Bittersweet Strawberry Blood
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: Dark AU. Mainly Kichigo. Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto are vamps and move into Tokyo to disrupt the peaceful lives that the waitresses of Cafe Mew Mew knew. but Ichigo secretly wanted that change. .:. rated T for blood mention, language, and tongue-action.
1. Just An Ordinary Day

**Summary: **_Ichigo was a normal girl of 16, a freshman in high school. She had 4 close friends of different ages that she worked with at a local café in the suburbs near Tokyo, Japan. She was content with her simple, boring life … but secretly she longer for something a little more. Little did she expect the three new boys that moved into town to be that 'something more' … _inspired by my recent obsession of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Rated T for violence (blood/death), language, and tongue-action; "but mostly violence!" –quotes Fairly Odd Parents–

**A/N: **Dark AU story that sprang into my mind and wouldn't leave until I wrote it. Damn thing begged to be written. And there will be NOT MANY of similarities to this from Twilight. If you haven't ever read that book series, then pick it up because it's a great vampire novel/series. And a romance, too. Which is what this will be, mainly with IchigoXKisshu but also some PuddingXTaruto and LettuceXPai, because I like those pairings; one-sided AoyamaXIchigo as well. I promise to write with great description, metaphors and such, because I don't want this to be written badly. And unlike my other fics where I miss a typo or two, this will be as perfect as I'm able! _((And I know, I just keep writing more and more fanfics without completing any of my others, but that's becuase I keep having new ideas! And besides, they'll be continuted and/or complete soon. So anyway, here's another fanfic of mine...))_

**Warnings: **Blood and plenty of it, and Kisshu is not as kind as Edward, so expect more lusting for Ichigo … her body AND her blood. Which is why this is T-rated. Reason being: I'm slipping in some tongue-action limey things. Haha. And also, if you don't like any of the pairings I listed above, or are weak at the mention of blood, then GTFO (not to be rude. I really mean 'get out', but if I type GO, then it's like 'go', and then you won't get the idea…).

_And now we go to the story … have fun, kiddies. _

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--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 1  
**"_**Just an Ordinary Day"  
**_--

Minto laughed and flipped back some of her navy blue hair, hey tiny cheerleader uniform swaying slightly in the breeze. Ichigo smiled and turned to face towards the sky, which was a dim grey as the clouds blurred out the cool sun. Rays of light that streaked down through the haze on the autumn day were hardly much warmer than the breeze itself, which gave you shivers as it licked across your face. Ichigo's friend shivered and complained about having practice today, saying that the whether was not fit for jumping around in tights and a miniskirt with pom-poms as her only protection.

"It can't be helped," Ichigo sighed, her raspberry bangs falling into her eyes as the wind gently tickled her face.

"I really wish it _could_ be helped," whined Mint, tugging down on her skirt in a feeble attempt at warming her thighs.

Suddenly the little breeze picked up and became a wild gust of icy air, rendering the two girls frozen for a moment on the sidewalk. Ichigo held up her hands to block the unexpected rush, but Minto, unfortunately, wasn't prepared … it flipped up her skirt and pierced the fabric of her attached shorts, the icy wind finding it's way into her slightly open jacket and freezing up her chest with cold fingers.

"Chikushou," the pink-haired girl cursed under her breath. "Minto-chan," she said louder, going over to her friend, whose eyes were watering. "You alright?"

"No, I am not 'alright'," she said between clenched teeth. "Let's turn around and head to my house. I'm skipping cheerleading practice today, and all of them can kiss my frozen ass." The 16-year-old tugged down her skirt and zipped up her coat farther, her teeth beginning to chatter. She had such a thin physique that the cold went right through her, down to her bones.

Ichigo could hear her friend grumbling about this and that lowly to herself, but she just smiled, her eyes soft. "Tell you what," she said to her friend, "We'll call Lettuce and invite her to my house, and the three of us can hang out instead. We don't work today, remember."

Minto nodded slowly. "Yeah, and you're house is closer than mine. So we'll just go to yours, then."

Ichigo smiled. "Sure. My mom just bought some more of that tea you like, and I took the liberty of getting more Pocky; chocolate, your favorite."

The blue-haired girl smiled slightly in return. "Mm, hot tea and chocolate Pocky … just what I need right about now," she sighed, linking arms with her friend. "The sooner the better, too!"

--

Since it had been Friday when the girls had come over, Ichigo was now laying between her two friends in her full bed, both of them snoozing silently, they bodies warming the space beneath the sheets. The strawberry girl herself was wide awake, no matter how dark or how warm it was sandwiched between the two other girls.

It was funny, because her life so far had been mostly this … sleepovers, football games where she watched Mint cheer and Lettuce play in the band, days at the café where little blonde Pudding, only in middle school, would tell her jokes and walk on her hands like a circus monkey. Her life was mostly about her friends and family, and her two bosses at the café that had become her reliable friends as well; Keiichiro-senpai and Shirogane-senpai. And there was her little dog Masha, and that boy at the dojo that gave her flirty looks, but she never pursued him. It was funny, because her life was so boring and simple and average. She had no problem with this, because it was nice in it's own way … but deep down she longed for something more. Something … extra.

With a sigh, Ichigo climbed over Lettuce and headed for her windowsill, sitting on it's cushions, her cheek resting on the cool glass. The moon was shining with a yellow-white glow, almost completely full. She could see her oak tree out front shake slightly as the wind passed through it's branches, the yellowed leaves churning. One or two leaves would fall here and there, unable to hold on any longer.

"Isn't there something else for me to do in my life?" Ichigo asked herself in a dull whisper, her eyes closing.

She was a relatively good student, although not as bright as Lettuce, who was taking the high-leveled classes. She had two loving parents and was pretty popular, although she wasn't stuck-up or mean to anyone. Her life seemed … well … _perfect_. And … she wasn't sure if she liked that.

"There's nothing," she sighed, answering herself. "Nothing else to do, unless I want to become something I'm not."

And by that she meant a punk or some other high school label. But maybe that's just the kind of spice she needed … now that she had a driver's license, maybe she should think about getting a motorcycle license, too. Maybe she should wear a little more black. But … she wouldn't have a good reason for it. Her only reason would be, 'because I'm bored with being perfect'; and that's no excuse at all.

Reluctantly Ichigo lifted her weight off the cushions of her windowsill, turning towards her bed again. She had no choice now but to sleep, her mind running out of thoughts to keep her occupied. And so she pulled back her sheets, seeing Lettuce next to Mint now, leaving a space for her near the edge. Ichigo smiled slightly as she slipped into her bed, her body ready to sleep finally.

But as soon as she had fallen down into her dreams, she woke with a scream.

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	2. New Student

**A/N: **Not very dark yet. It won't be for awhile, sadly. But in this chapter we meet Kisshu … _-hearts-_ Anyway, enjoy. I'll be uploading two chapters tonight for you at once, hurray! _-dances-_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 2  
**_**"New Student"  
**_----------------------------------------------------

Come Monday, Ichigo was more than ready to go back to school. The only stimulation in her life was in the walls of her high school, all the drama and hormones mixing together to give the air an electric spark. And on this particular day, our little main character could sense a little extra bitterness in the halls.

"Did you hear?" Mint said, coming up alongside her best friend. "There's some new guys that moved into town! And one's 17, just a year older than us," she giggled excitedly.

"Oh really?" countered Ichigo. "What's his name?"

"Not sure; but I do know that he has two brothers that he lives with. Rumor is one's a real young doctor, and the other is in middle school like Pudding. But can you imagine? Three new guys move in over the weekend and we didn't even know it!"

If you wanted to describe Minto, three words that would fit beautifully would be: 'bubbly over boys'. This is exactly how she was acting right now, completely obsessed even though she hasn't met the mentioned boys yet.

"Mint-chan, are you crushing on someone you don't know yet?" Ichigo teased, opening her locker for her books for her next class. She tugged on her uniform's skirt as she bent down, reaching for a textbook with a red cover. With a smirk she glanced up at her friend while she stood, seeing Mint's face as red as her book.

"Am not," she retorted, sticking out her tongue. "I just wanted you to know."

Ichigo smiled. "Well, now I do. And there's the bell, so we should get to class."

Minto pouted but followed Ichigo to their next class, which they both happen to have together.

But as soon as they walked into the room, their paced slowed. Who the hell was that sitting right behind their chairs?

With a puzzled expression, Mint glanced over at Ichigo, and she frowned in return. It's as if they were silently asking each other, _was that the new guy?_

As soon as the pink-haired girl went to take her seat in front of the strange new boy, he gave her a cold, hard stare paired with a dark smile, which vanished as soon as she returned the stare with her own confused one.

His gold eyes, for however brief she saw them, were sparkling with a crackling inner fire, and for a moment – that tiny millisecond their eyes met – she was entranced. It wasn't until the teacher's voice called for class to begin that she slumped down into her chair and faced forward, feeling his eyes soaking up every inch of her from behind.

_Just who is he? _she thought to herself. The teacher began rambling about something, because this was World History class, but she ignored him and went deep into thought. _He's obviously the new guy Mint-chan was talking about, but … there's something strange about him. And what's with that dye job on his hair? It's like a forest green. A lot of people have unnatural hair colored in this school, me included, but … forest green? Weird. And his eyes … are those contacts? They're the strangest shade of gold, almost yellow. And his pupils seemed narrowed, maybe even slit like a cat's. And then how he looked at me … did I do something wrong? He gave me the most hurtful glance … _

At the end of class, the teacher smacked himself in the forehead and smiled apologetically. "Gomenasai, class! I completely forgot."

A girl down front (who obviously had a crush on the young male teacher) piped up, "Sensei, what's the matter? What have you forgotten?"

"Hopefully tonight's homework," joked one of the boys in the back of the class.

The teacher waved it aside. "No, you're still getting homework; but what I forgot what to introduce our new transfer student from America. Please come and introduce yourself, won't you, son?"

Ichigo could hear the chair behind her slide as someone stood, and it took all she had not to look over at him when he walked passed her to the front of the classroom. "Sure," he said in English, which no one expected. "My name's Kisshu and I was raised in the U.S., but born here in Japan."

A bunch of kids gave him weird looks, a lot of them not knowing any or little English, Ichigo included. The only thing she understood was 'Kisshu', ' U.S.', and ' Japan'.

Kisshu chuckled at his classmates, his hands down in his pant pockets. With a smirk he translated to Japanese: "I'm Kisshu and I was born in Japan but grew up in America, so I speak fluent English. Understand?"

Everyone laughed slightly, not really sure if it was funny or not. Kisshu returned to his seat, a crooked smile on his lips.

**Speaking English when you know the whole class only knows a word or two is a pretty cruel prank if you ask me, **Ichigo wrote to Mint, slipping her the note with the toe of her shoe.

The navy-haired girl felt the touch and purposely dropped her pencil to retrieve both it and the note. After reading it she rolled her eyes and scribbled something down in reply, but the bell rang just then.

With a shrug, Ichigo got up from her seat. Mint picked up her books and told her friend her scribbled reply in person. "I know, he seems like a jerk. I bet he'll turn out to be just another loser." She sighed then, rubbing the place between her eyes. "And I was hoping he would be someone decent I could fall in love with."

Ichigo nudged her. "You know that never happens in real life. You're going to just have o face facts: boys this age aren't like that."

Minto nodded gravely. "Yeah; _unfortunately_."

Lettuce passed them in the hall, a smile on her innocent face, her round glasses sliding down her nose. "Konnichiwa," she said softly while pushing up her glasses.

"Hey, Lettuce-chan!" Ichigo smiled.

"Did you see that new boy Kisshu? He's so … odd," she told them, a guilty look on her face. "Oh, maybe I shouldn't say that. It's gossip, isn't it?"

If you wanted to describe the Lettuce in looks, you could say: 'intimidated bookworm'. If you wanted to describe her in personality, however, it would be: 'selfless prude'. She was innocent and apologetic, and when she was younger kids would tease or pick on her, but she would just try to please or befriend them anyway. One word summons up both her looks and personality perfectly, and although it's a simple word, it's very true: 'sweet'.

"Not really gossip, no; it's kind of true," Mint replied, taking out a nail file as they walked down the halls, their classes all at the end of one hallway.

"But Minto-san, have you even met –"

"We both have, actually. He was in our last class," Ichigo frowned, her light brown eyes looking a little angry. "And he looked at me funny, almost … _hate_fully. He's kind of a jerk, too! He messed with the whole class by speaking in English when obviously most of us don't know. He has an American accent, too. He's annoying."

For s second Ichigo couldn't believe how harshly she judged someone she hardly even met. She brought her hand to her mouth quickly, making a popping noise.

"Where did all of that come from, Ichi-chan?" Mint laughed. "Did the devil hop inside of you for a hate-fest or what?"

Ichigo shook her head. "No, no, I just … I'm sorry. I don't know where it came from. I don't mean it, I swear."

Lettuce looked quizzically at her friend. "But does he really have an American accent? I think guys like that sound cute," she said with a blush, immediately looking down when she finished saying it.

Minto nudged her with her elbow. "Maybe he's not half the jerk, ne? Ne, ne, maybe he's just the touch type on the outside but deep down someone right for you, ne?"

"Oh, shut up, Mint! Leave Lettuce-chan alone." Ichigo scolded.

She shrugged, laying off her bashful friend. "Okay, okay."

"We're going to be late for class!" Lettuce burst suddenly. Which was correct; the bell was seconds from ringing, and they were almost there! The three barely made it, but the second Ichigo walked into her class, alone, she saw the same cold, yellow-gold eyes …

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	3. Temptation

**A/N: **We get inside Kisshu's mind now … like Stephenie's soon-to-be book of Edward's POV in the time span as Twilight (which will be very interesting!!). Anyway, please try not to be too scared of him … he'll get better … he's just 'thirsty' right now. Darker chapter, this one. –This is where the blood mention and language comes in to help make this M-rated. _YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED_, lawl. XDD …later on, too, the sun comes out. I like Stephenie's 'sparkling skin' thing, but … I'd rather the sun be something else to these vampires. Besides, I don't want to take her idea, it'd feel like I broke some copyright law or something. So instead, here's my vampires-to-the-sun theory: When a vamp comes in contact with sunlight, they get severe headaches and can use their vampiric powers due to the intensity of the ultraviolet rays. Can make sense, ne?

_And oh, later on Lettuce is reading a book I love called _Poison_. A little scary at times later in the story, but she doesn't know that yet. Besides, reading is reading, and I bet that even sweet little Lettuce might like that book. It's by _Chris Wooding_, who also wrote _Storm Thief

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 3  
****_"Temptation"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Kisshu wasn't the type to be attracted so immediately, but twice in a row today he felt time stop around him as a gush of bittersweet strawberries filled his nose. And on those two occasions, he felt a powerful urge to jump whoever was omitting that scent. It was so … _delicious_. Nothing should smell that delicious and be allowed to live without being tasted. It teased him in ways that were hardly tolerable, and it took all Kisshu had to not swarm all over the pink-haired girl who was obviously calling out to him.

He gave her a hateful glare for the second time that day, hating how she tormented him without knowing it; blaming her that there were other people around, too many, all possible witnesses. And it didn't help that she was pretty, either … it just made her seem that much more irresistible.

_Why?_ he thought to himself, _why, when I try to reset my life, must there be this temptation? _

And oh, what a temptation she was. Luckily she sat across the room this time, unlike last period where Kisshu thought he was going to snap and launch forward, his teeth waiting to break her skin …

He shook his thoughts away, his forest green hair bouncing slightly. He decided to listen to the teacher now, whom he'd been ignoring for some time.

But even from across the room that girl's scent was overwhelming. He didn't know how he lasted through his first period class. "Sensei?"

"Hai, Kisshu-san?"

"May I be excused to the restroom?"

"Hai. Take a pass."

"Arigato," he muttered, getting up from his seat and walking stiffly to the door. Kisshu kept his teeth clenched to stop his canines from growing any longer, but he could feel them itch in his mouth, begging to be released.

And no, it wasn't some genetic problem or a disease …

It was something that he never wanted anyone to know about, something that his 'brothers' Pai and Taruto shared as their secret …

For you see, that bittersweet strawberry smell, and his urge to break that girls skin was to reach the taste his teeth were calling out to him to do … the taste of warm, red liquid that is pumped through the body with every breathtaking heartbeat … blood.

A substance some people were squeamish with, something no one wanted to see pour out of their bodies. – But Kisshu did, as well as his two so-called brothers.

And whether or not you believe in ghost tales of creatures that live beyond the grave, you should know this: the three newcomers to Tokyo were **vampires**. Undead, icy-fleshed **_vampires_**.

_And that dumb, pink-haired bitch just had to be in my blood preference,_ complained Kish to himself. _Pretty, tasty bitch … _

He moaned in pain as his teeth throbbed, aching for the taste of blood. …oh, how it hurt. It hurt so much to stand by idly, watching, waiting … wanting …

_I could set a trap for her, _he smiled to himself. _It would be so easy. She would be lured quite nicely into somewhere secluded where I can sink my teeth into her soft flesh … _he thought as he paced the bathroom floor. But he stopped and looked at himself in the mirror, his reflection startling him. Unlike the myths where you cannot see his reflection, it was not true … he could see his reflection, and it was frightening at the moment. His teeth were what you might call 'horny', in the sense that they were thirsting for blood but not getting any. His eyes were dilated and lusting, which scared even him.

Kisshu stopped for a moment, resting his hand on the warm wall (well, warm compared to his cold skin), taking in shallow breaths. _I have to stay calm, I have to not think about those kinds of things … I came to Japan in order to restart my life after that one human I took the life of in America. I must remind myself that I am to only feed on the blood of an animal … _He shook his head, trying to clear it, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

Slowly, and with a tiny stitch of pain, his fangs retracted into normal canine teeth. Well, normal for him, anyway; they were a tint longer than the average human's, but nothing you could decipher easily without something to compare it to.

With a relieved sigh the forest-haired boy glanced at his watch, quickly adding up how much time he had wasted. Unluckily for him, his had wasted the rest of his class time, his books still back in his seat. "Kuso," he muttered as he stormed out of the public bathroom, the door swinging silently behind him.

--------

Ichigo smiled blatantly and told herself to forget everything. Today felt like some kind of weird weight on her normal life, and she realized that she wasn't acting quite herself. Why, normally she took her seemingly-perfect life and made it into something better than that, smiling and laughing the whole way. It wasn't until Friday night that she started to doubt it and wish for more … why had she thought of that, anyway?

"Baka," she giggled, playfully knocking herself on the head. "Bakabakashii!"

"Who's a baka?" Mint asked, a grin on her face.

"I am!" Ichigo replied.

Minto frowned, looking at her sideways. "Well that's good," she said before laughing.

Ichigo looked confused. "What's good?"

Minto slapped her arm, informing her, "I thought we almost switched places today! Or, more like … since Friday. My mom told me yesterday. She goes: 'Mint, dear, you seem more cheerful today. Did you get asked out?'"

"But you haven't, right? You'd tell me if –"

"No, I didn't, _duh_. It's just my mom playing her guessing games. But it's just weird, isn't it? I felt like someone else. But I sure as hell understand your mind better now!" she teased, looping her arm in Ichigo's. Lettuce appeared then, smiling at them, a bento in her hands.

_Well it is pretty weird, _Ichigo agreed, _but nothing to worry about. I mean, we've been friends a long time … maybe it's just us rubbing off one another. Either way, I'm starving, so thank God it's lunch time! _

--------

Lettuce sat quietly on the bench outside, munching on some rice which Mint and Ichigo chatted away about one thing or another. She was never one to say much, although there were times she wished she could say everything on her mind all at once to everyone, her fuel being all the bottled-up things she held inside her.

But that would never happen.

And it was such a pity, too.

While Ichigo went off on her usual rambles, Mint beginning to get irritated with her, Lettuce set down her chopsticks and sighed, yanking out a book from her bag to read. They were her friends, the only friends she's ever had that hadn't mistreated her and stuck by her, but even then there were times where it was like _this_, and she felt ignored and left to her own thoughts (which were highly intelligible thoughts, might I add).

_It's peaceful out here, _she began, _even though there are people everywhere. But the scenery is so nice, so fresh. It's warmer and the sun it out today, unlike Friday and Saturday. Speaking of Friday … it seems odd that Ichigo and Mint were acting so funny, and then today we find out some people moved into the city late that night. I doubt there's a connection … but still, it's kind of strange. Maybe they have ESP and knew about the move but didn't tell me! _She joked to herself, popping a grape in her mouth while she read. It was a strange faerie tale about a girl named Poison who had purple eyes and her half sister stolen from her by the faerie folk, and now she was out to rescue her. Lettuce wasn't very far into it, but it was rather good so far.

"Hey, wasn't it cloudier this morning?" Lettuce could hear someone say.

"Yeah, sure was. Oh, hey, looks like that one new guy with the green hair got sick. In my last class he went home."

"Are you kidding? On his first day?!"

"Yeah. He started feeling sick when the sun was hitting him. Think the glass magnified it or something and made him too hot? When I get too hot I don't feel so good, either."

"Maybe. And hey, Senji-chan, since when do you care about some new guy?"

"…He's hot, okay?!"

"Ooh! So my little Senji has a crush …"

"Shut it, Meinkyou! I'll kick your ass if you tell anyone …"

And then the two girls walked away, and Lettuce couldn't hear anymore. But it wasn't like she was eavesdropping … they were just talking to loud while she was trying to read. That wasn't her fault, now, was it? But what they were talking about was kind of strange …

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	4. Suspicious

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 4  
**_**"Suspicious"  
**_----------------------------------------------------

"Dammit, Pai! Did you know that it was going to be sunny today?"

"You should ask Taruto, not me; after all, he's the one who can see the most of any future." the lavender-haired man replied calmly, bringing a cup of tea up to his lips.

"Yeah, but I'm not one to see the weather!" Tart said, bursting into the kitchen, a hand of his head.

"There you are!" Kisshu scorned. "Listen, Taruto, I need you to –"

"You know that I can't summon up a vision by will!" the younger boy snapped. "Now get out of my way, Onii-san. I'm thirsty." He walked passed his two brothers to the refrigerator where a few (stolen) bags of donated blood from the hospital sat.

"We should have brought more with us," Pai sighed. "I'm not sure I should smuggle some out first thing at my new job."

Kisshu glared at his older brother. "Why the hell not? It's not like they'd notice; and even if they do, they won't suspect you. And speaking of blood … Pai, I need to talk to you. In private."

"Oh, it's something that I can't hear?" whined the brunette, a drip of blood in the corner of his mouth.

"My, tensions sure run high on sunny days," Pai said expressionlessly as he rose from the table, donned in his white scrubs. He followed his forest green-haired sibling into the study. The door closed behind them with a soft click, and Pai said more seriously, "What's this all about, Kish-onii?"

"There's a problem at the high school," he said dryly. "And it seems like something that can't be helped, but I was hoping maybe you could prove me wrong."

"And just what is it?" Pai asked, his interest sparked. He didn't show it, but he liked it when he could prove Kisshu wrong, since sometimes the 17-year-old brat could he more right than he was, which irked him.

"A girl, a little younger than me, but in my class. Her blood tells me she's about 16. She's attractive, but in more ways than one."

Pai raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me she's in your blood preference?"

Kish scowled. "Unfortunately. And it's stronger than anything I've ever felt before. It took all I had today not to jump her and drain her veins dry."

Pai closed his eyes and cupped his chin his one hand. "This proves to be a difficulty; we're trying not to rely much on human blood after that little mistake in the States. I finally move back to my homeland and you're telling me that one girl might threaten our leaving it? I don't like the sound of that."

"I didn't say we'd have to leave," Kisshu replied, shoving his frustration at the girl down his throat. "I'm just saying that this could be dangerous. I was near her twice, and the second time I had to leave to the bathroom just to calm myself."

Pai shook his head. "This has happened to me a few times in the past … one person had blood that called to me so strongly that I could hardly sit still. I'll tell you what, Kisshu … to be safe, you can feed of some animal blood to keep back your thirst for a few days. It'll help a little, or at least enough to sit in the same room with this girl."

The teen nodded. "Yeah, I pretty much thought of that already. But Pai, what am I going to do afterwards? It's so strong … her blood, I mean. And it doesn't help she has a nice body, too," he added with a smirk.

Pai smiled vaguely, but one could hardly call it a smile. "Just try to live with it, Pervert. It'll be sunny again tomorrow, so you won't be going to school, anyway. Take that time to feed and help your vampirisms settle themselves."

Kish sighed and straightened his posture. "Fine. I just hope this doesn't end badly."

"Oh, it shouldn't," the doctor replied as he opened the study door. "Now why don't you get set on your homework?"

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What no one knew about the new family in Tokyo was that they were vampires … with their own unique powers. Taruto, the youngest, could see spots of someone's future. Pai, the oldest, could switch people's personalities for short amounts of time. Kisshu, however, could teleport to any location he wished if he's seen it before. A picture in his mind (or better yet, a name to go with it), and he could teleport to that place. Handy for a vampire, any of those gifts. But sometimes they're uncontrollable, and act on their own accounts.

For example, Taruto's visions of the future are not acted on a whim. Kisshu can sometimes accidentally teleport if he thinks about a certain place for too long. Pai, though, was the one affected this time around … Friday night, when they had moved to Tokyo, his powers acted on their own and made countless people switch personalities.

And two of those victims happened to be Ichigo and Minto; which explains that Mint was saying earlier and what was occurring.

Little problems like this happen all the time, it's nothing new. But to some people, strange, random things as such may cause suspicion.

And when it came down to little Lettuce, tiny details stuck in her head and wouldn't leave until she figured them out. And unfortunately for Lettuce (and Ichigo since they shared this quality), she was known to be superstitious as well. Ichigo believed in ghosts and spirits, where as Lettuce believed in demons, and feared them. She thought that things like witches and vampires and werewolves existed to some extent, that they were lurking in every dark corner and alleyway. Call it a childish fear if you may, but it's what she believed in. Not that she liked those things very much, but because of the ideas that were planted into her head by her bullying male cousins when she was little, she believed in them.

And when she heard the tiny details of Mint thinking she and Ichigo switched persons and that the new boy went home as soon as the sun shone, it made her wonder. She had read up on a few fairy tales in her life to see what to look for in case those demons decided to plague her, and a few of which were about vampires.

Vampires hated sunlight because the UV light drained their powers and gave them headaches, rendering them helpless like a mortal. And some vampires had special powers, and what if one of those was to switch persons?

_But I have no proof that the new boy is a vampire,_ Lettuce reasoned to herself, trying to calm her nerves. _Just that he went home when the sun came out. But that doesn't mean anything, right? He could just have gotten sick! Yeah, that's probably all it is. And Minto-san and Ichigo-san have been friends for so long that they might have just rubbed off on one another! Yeah, that's it. Nothing big. _

But Lettuce was someone who was frightened easily and her imagination was known to get the best of her. Ichigo was similar in this way. And because of that their mothers had to keep reminding them: **it's all in your head.**

Although, sometimes … it wasn't all in your head.

But how was Lettuce supposed to know the difference?

--------

"Ichigo! Ichigo, honey, it's time for dinner! Come down, won't you? I bet you're on the computer again…"

"Gomen, Mom! I'll be right down!" she called happily from her bedroom upstairs. She logged off of instant messenger as soon as she had told her friends goodbye.

After thumping down the stairs, she wheeled into the kitchen, the sultry smell of curry in the air. "Your father said he's going to be late for dinner," her mother sighed as she set down a bowl of curry. "We'll just have to eat without him."

"Hai," Ichigo nodded, seating herself on one of the mats in front of their low table. "Itadakimasu!"

After eating and helping her mother clean up, Ichigo headed back up the stairs. Masha followed her up, his little tail swishing happily. "Ruff?"

She glanced down at him as she opened her bedroom door. "What?" she giggled, cocking her head.

"Ba-woof!" the dog responded, running inside and hopping on her bed.

"You sure are begging for attention tonight, Masha," she laughed, pulling her book bag onto her bed and sitting down next to him. "But I have homework to do unless I want to fail; so I can't pet you for hours on end like you like."

The dog tilted it's tiny head at her, it's bubblegum-pink tongue peaking out between a set of teeth. "Ayuuu?" it whined.

"Masha! I'm serious! Homework …"

He whines again at her. "Aruuu?"

"Well, okay, just for little bit." She smiled, not wanting to do her homework at all. She reached over and the dog immediately responded with a lick at her fingers, and then scooted closer as she began scratching behind his ear.

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**A/N: **You know what? This is becoming so unlike Twilight that I don't think I should say it's based off of it anymore. Really, I should say, this is just taking the idea of vampires with unique powers from it. Because almost no characters are the same and none of the relationships really will be. So … I now declared this my own idea for most everything. (Although there still is some credit not to me, least you realize this already.)


	5. Haunting Memories

**A/N:** Now it's getting good, kukuku. I love writing this one, even though I haven't updated in a while. So sorry! But here's my update, so be happy!!

_I love you all, so please review! _

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 5  
****_"Haunting Memories"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

She ended up falling asleep, her homework unfinished, which brought us to the morning, where she woke up with a start, her eyes growing wide with panic. "Nyaaaaahh!!"

Her mother downstairs chuckled to herself. "What's the matter?" she called up from the stair landing. "Are you just waking up now?"

"Yes, but that's not the point! I … I didn't do my homework." Ichigo sweat dropped, sighing sadly. "My teachers are going to kill me."

"If you hurry up and get ready," her mom smiles as she walks away from the bottom of the stairs, "You might get some of your homework done in homeroom before class starts."

Her brown eyes widened as she stared at the bathroom mirror, water trickling down her cheeks. "That's it!" she grins, drying off the slightly soapy water from her skin. "I'll just finish it before class. Arigato!"

"No problem. Now hurry up!"

"Hai!"

In no time the pink-haired girl was out the door and jogging down the sidewalk, racing to get to school on time, or if possible, a little early.

--------

It was far too sunny outside for Kisshu's liking, so he waited in his room that day with his music blasting and the black curtains drawn tightly. The sounds of _Muse_,_ Placebo_,_ Skillet _and_ My Chemical Romance _streamed from his wall speakers off one of his make-your-own-from-your-iTunes-library kind of CD's. He could picture the cover of it now, it's white surface covered in Sharpie-marker doodles of blood, skulls and cross bones paired with a mini electric guitar. He wasn't much of an artist, but he liked to doodle from time to time, and where better than on your CD's?

And he had hundreds from all kinds of eras. He even had old records and tapes, and any house they ever lived in could store it all since Pai's been a rich doctor for almost two centuries. It was funny, because compared to Pai, Kish was practically a 'new' vampire. He's only been 'dead' for about 80 years. But Taruto is the youngest, in physical appearance as well as age. He's only been a vampire for 26 years, the poor kid. Him and Kisshu were unfortunate enough to be turned when they weren't in adulthood yet, and Pai just barely. Why, Pai was only 23 when he was turned, fresh out of college. Tart was still in middle school in the States when he was turned. And Kisshu … well, he didn't like his story very much. Although it's safe to say that he was merely 17. And a recent 17-year-old if that; his birthday had been two days before he was turned.

The sad thing was, he had all day to think about these things while the music played nonstop in the background. Not being able to show his face in the sun left nearly 12 hours of thinking time. He could as easily go on the computer or play a video game, but that was more of what Taruto did. He just … well, Kisshu wasn't sure. There was always that stash of porn magazines to look at, but that was only entertaining for a little while. So, on days like this where he couldn't leave, he'd write lyrics or play mindlessly on his drum set or think. In this case, he was going to the back of his mind, into his skeleton closet, for memories to think about.

He was there, of 'course, when they brought Taruto into their group of 'brotherhood'. He was found in a back alley 26 years ago as an 8th grader, barely 14 years old, maybe a month or so away. He was battered and bleeding, later telling Kisshu and Pai that some high school jerks had taken things a little too far, their reason being some things Taruto had said and done. But the main point was that he was dying … and Pai had offered him a chance to live. Before he lost complete consciousness, right when his heart was on the verge of giving out, Pai told him: "I can save you, Tart. But it means becoming something other than human."

Taruto had smiled dimly, his eyes losing their shine. "It's okay … I already knew that you are … so just … do it. Just do it …"

And that had been all it took. Pai had reached down, cupped the little brunette's head in his hand, and bit down into his neck without sucking up anything. Five days later … Taruto woke up again, stronger than ever. He never liked much taking the blood of animals, said it was cruel. So Pai would sneak home to him bags of donated blood form the hospital, promising that it was from already dead humans or ones who willingly gave it up. Tart had muttered something about not liking that it was human blood, but grown used to it in the end.

Pai's story was vague and not known very well to anyone except himself, but Kisshu knew a little bit more than Taruto. The funny thing was, Pai's transformation was almost on accident; something about a lover he didn't know was a vampire, and she bit him … and there you go, insta-vamp. Pai says it's darker than that, which gives Kisshu the shivers. To think as Pai as anything other than his intelligent, reserved self is over Kish's head.

Kisshu's own story is heartbreaking, or at least it might be if you tell it to some teeny-bopper girl. It's sappy and what you might call 'gothically romantic', but it feels more like to him something pathetic and tragic.

The green-haired boy shuddered and tossed the memories from his mind, kissing them good-bye and muttering "Good riddance," in a sarcastic tone. He'll get nostalgic over someone else, but not himself. He hated personal nostalgia. Maybe it was because he was a screw up, but maybe it was because he wanted to think of himself as something better than he was. But he knew the truth: he was a blood-thirsty vampire trying to go through rehab with no luck.

--------

Ichigo frowned at the empty seat behind her, wondering why the new guy comes to school for half a day and is suddenly gone. It seemed a little strange to her, but she shrugged and tucked her stray pigtail hairs behind her ear, getting back to taking notes on her teacher's lecture. In the end she had more doodles than notes, but at least she wasn't staring off into space the whole time.

With a sigh she collected her things and listened to the bell chime, notifying lunch. "Minto-chan!" she called, jogging up behind her friend in the hallway. "Minto, why are you ignoring me??" she whined after a little while.

"I'm in a bad mood today, okay?"

"Why?"

The blue-haired girl pouts and says, "Zakuro-onee won't go to the mall with me this weekend. Says she has to work. She's always working, Ichigo! It's annoying." With a smirk she added, "More annoying than you, if it's hard to believe."

"Hey!!" Ichigo pouted, but in the end they both were laughing. "So … where's Lettuce-chan?"

Mint frowned. "I think she's in the library again."

Ichigo set down her books and took out her bento, the lunch tables outside crowded with smiling faces, the cool autumn breeze touching their hair like a motherly hand. "Maybe we should go get her –"

But her friend just shook her head. "Nah, we don't need to. And hey, did you notice? That jerk wasn't here today. Think he got really sick the first day or something?"

"I don't care. What does it matter?" Ichigo says stubbornly while shoving a bite of sushi into her mouth.

"You have a piece of rice on you cheek," came a voice behind her.

"Oh! Hey Aoyama," she says casually and turns slightly to give him a small smile. He grins broadly in return and uses a finger to swipe the grain of rice off her face. She tries not to grimace and forced another smile. "Arigato."

Aoyama was one of the jocks of the school, someone the girls flock to watch at the local dojo. But everyone knew he liked Ichigo. But as for her feelings for him … well, it was complicated. She didn't like how he seemed to stalk her, always appearing at the worst times. He was pretty good looking, and normally that'd make her date him in a heartbeat, but there was something weird about him that turned her off. Some curve of his lips or turn of his nose or glint in his eyes that she didn't like.

"How's it going, Momomiya-san? Nice day today, isn't it?" he smiles at her, his teeth almost too white, too perfect.

"Yeah, sure is nice … really nice day today!" she stiffens as he sits down next to her on the bench, placing his folded hands on the wooden tabletop. There was this creepy feeling coming off of him, like a wolf in sheep's clothing; or more of, a **nerd** in **jock's **clothing.

"Oh hey, Ichigo, look! It's Lettuce," Mint says, trying to ease the tension she sensed coming from between the brunette and her friend.

"Ichigo-san, Minto-san!" gasps the bookworm, coming over to them in a small jog.

"What's up, Lettuce-chan?" Ichigo asks, inching away from Aoyama.

"I-Ichigo-san, d-did you notice that the new boy wasn't h-here today?" she breathes, trying to catch her breath._ She must have jogged the whole way here from the library,_ Ichigo reasons.

"Yeah, but who cares about him?" Minto answers with a toss of her head, taking a straw in her mouth and sucking up bubbly soda.

Lettuce realized already that Mint kind of liked him, but pushing that aside she turns to Ichigo. "What do you think, Ichigo-san? Isn't it a little … strange?"

The pink-haired girl shrugs. "He could just have gotten sick. I mean, he's in another country; maybe the change made his body catch something like you told me about the American Indians and the English settlers."

Mint shakes her head. "She tells you that crap, Ichigo? Man, she's just loves world history."

In defense, she flushes and says, "Well, the Americans are pretty interesting! But … don't you guys think it's a little weird that he's suddenly gone when the sun came out yesterday?"

Aoyama laughs. "What are you suggesting? He's a demon of the dark or something? Hates the sun?"

Again Lettuce flushes. "Well, no, but …"

"Relax, Lettuce. Everything's fine," Mint tells her. "You got to learn to let go of your fears."

--------

In his dark room, Kisshu sensed the sun going down. Carefully he pulled back the smallest corner of his curtain, peeking an eye through the window. It was dusk, the harmless part of the day. With a grin he yanked the curtains open to full, feeling the tiniest tingle crawl over his flesh. The sun was low in the sky, only a small orange thing fading behind the horizon. "Perfect."

"Heading out to feed so that you can go to school tomorrow? It'll be cloudy, you know." Pai stated as Kisshu headed for the front door.

"You bet. I'll be back sometime around midnight. Don't stay up too late for me," he laughs, knowing that vampires can't sleep. It's one of their many burdens. It made Kisshu feel like that redheaded serial killer on Naruto.

"Wait, Kish-nii, let me come with," Taruto squeaked; being killed so young, his voice still cracks now and then when he speaks.

"Sure," the forest-haired boy smiled, a fang peaking out between his lips.


	6. Official Meeting

**A/N:** Ooh, this chapter was SO fun to write! Its a little skippy, but it'll fit later on. I love writing this again. Mm, and I know what I'm doing later for some Kichigo action ... something about 'strawberry-rhubarb flavor', ne? XD

_I'M SO EVIL. XDD_

_Oh, and:  
Review please! This chapter deserves a little feedback, I think._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 6  
****_"Official Meeting"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

_Maybe I shouldn't have left Taruto alone. He can hunt fine by himself, but … nah. It's fine. _Kisshu shrugged on his way back from his own hunt. _I just finish too quickly, that's all. But maybe I should have teleported home. It's not too late now; I mean … no one's really seen me, so I could easily – oops. And maybe I've spoke too soon. _Kisshu thought. And at that moment that he was walking home from one of the few forests Japan has, a figure was seen not too far off. It was curvy and small, probably a young female. She seemed to be carrying groceries in her hands.

The vampire checked his cell phone clock, and realized it was only 9:00. Thanks to his teleportation gifts, he had hunted and fed quickly; taking only about two hours or so. _A new record, _he mused.

Suddenly he froze in place, the night air carrying a scent to his nostrils, and a delightful quake went down his spine. He knew that scent …

_No, no! _He thought, shaking himself. _Stop that. You just had most of your fill! Just ... teleport home now before – _

"Hey! W-who's there?!" came a slightly frightened voice.

_…Too late. Chikushou! _Kisshu cursed. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, and with a false pleasant smile he stepped into the light of a street lamp. "Konnichiwa! Did I scare you? Gomen," he said in Japanese, trying to sound as normal as possible. Or, at least, what was normal for him.

She looked quizzically at him, and with a squint she realized who it was. "Oh!"

He kept his smile, although he could feel his teeth stretch slightly. With an unnoticeable frown he closed his lips, feeling a prick against his gums. "What're you doing out so late, koneko-chan? Kind of dangerous to be out at 9:00 at night."

She seemed to pucker a little, almost out of pride. "I can take care of myself," she says defensively. Then she added: "Wait, did you call me 'kitten'?!"

"Oh, I'd hope so," he teases, ignoring her last statement. "But maybe you'd like an escort home?" _Wait, what did I just say? Kami, there's something wrong with me whenever I'm near her. Damn bitch … _

She visibly stiffens as he takes a step closer, his hand extended. To her, maybe it seemed in a creepy way. "I'm not interested, thank you. I have to get this stuff home to my parents. See you in school," she says awkwardly and turns to leave.

Part of him wanted to grab her by her arm and smile, seeing the refection of his fangs in her scared, dilated pupils; but the other part of him, the rehabilitated part, wanted to stand it's ground and just go home. In the end his rehabbed part won, and he headed for his house, muttering under his breath how it wasn't right for any human being to be so _alluring_.

--------

Breathing hard, Ichigo fell onto her bed, a white look on her face. That was **so **totally weird. First he stares at her almost hatefully when she lays eyes on him Monday at school, and then he goes missing for a day and a half, and then, randomly, he's there on her way home from the grocers? _Too_ weird.

Maybe Lettuce was right. Maybe there is something strange going on here. But … as afraid as she was a moment ago, she couldn't help feeling _intrigued_.

**_Deep down she longed for something more. Something … extra. _**

_Now that that something 'extra' has appeared in my school, is it really what I want? Hmm … There's something unnatural about him. Oh, but then again, I guess I could say the same for Aoyama. _After that thought, Ichigo sighed and shrugged, not wanting to get into it. Although, she realized something: yet again, she hadn't done her homework. _Oops._

--------

Wednesday morning a little blonde girl awaiting her 14th birthday awoke to a cloudy, dreary sky. Her light brown eyes opened slowly as she lay on her stomach on her bed, her banana yellow sheets looking greyer than usual. "Na?" came from her lips as she yawned and pushed herself up, looking out the window, wondering where the sun went.

Down the hall she could hear her siblings stirring, also waking for their school day. Nanny's voice called, "Pudding, are you awake?"

"Hai, **Rusuban-san!" Pudding called back, smiling. She thought she wouldn't like her 'care-taker', but really Nanny was old and sweet, and much better than nothing. She wasn't a mother to her, but more like a grandmother. It was a nice thing to have. **

**"Come down for breakfast, won't you? And oh! Stop that, you two!" **

**Pudding giggled slightly at Nanny's playful scorning directed at a few of her siblings outside her door. **

**Contentedly she rubbed her eyes and slipped on a fuzzy monkey-patterened robe, happy with her life. Maybe she mourned about her mother being gone and maybe she missed her father sometimes, but for the most part she could look at the tiny happy miracles in her everyday life and appreciate them. **

**Speaking of which, a tiny thought popped into her head. "Hn, I wonder if that new boy in my class will be back again today. I hope he wasn't too sick," she says hopefully, a tiny smile on her lips. "He's so kawaii; I want to see him again!" **

--------

Zakuro hated her job.

Well, not entirely, but for the most part it was truly troublesome.

There were moments when she would catch one of her so-called 'bosses' hinting at her, or when her co-workers – even though they grew to be friends of hers – would annoy the hell out of her, or the times when her graceful post-ballet career would go down the drain as she tripped over something and made cakes or coffees spill all over herself. It was times when those sorts of things happened that she hated her job, or at least wished for a higher pay. She was just trying to pay for college, which was hard enough as it is without finding the jobs with the right money.

And it didn't help that people flocked around her.

She knew she was pretty in her own way, and once or twice people offered her modeling jobs, but they weren't the kind a girl would like herself to get into. The sad thing of it all was that she didn't want to live in Japan at all. She knew a couple other languages, so why couldn't she live somewhere else? France, maybe? Hell, she'd even take America. But in the end … things never went the way she wanted them to. But that could be because she wanted _too_ much.

--------

If you wanted to describe Pudding, it would have to be 'sugar high'. She always seemed sunny and cheerful, always energetic and soaring up into the sky. She knew just about everybody, and just about everybody knew her. She was cute and innocent, childlike despite her age. She was also kind and wanted to help others in most any way she could, and didn't mind getting help if she needed it.

The truth about Pudding may startle others, though; and that truth being that she was deeply hurt inside. No one saw this, though. No one saw her unshed tears or the ache behind her smile. Maybe she was too good of an actress. Or maybe she only wanted to be happy like everyone else. Or maybe she was too caught up in her friends to show any sad emotion.

Either way, she missed her mother. That gentle touch and sweet look, that soft face and warm heart. She had loved her mother more than anything, and looked up to her father, and took care of her siblings. Even though he still traveled even then, they had been a young, happy family.

But that was all behind her now.

Now, at this very moment in time, Pudding was only walking down the hallway of her school, getting back from lunch, heading for her next class.

But also at this very moment in time, she was too busy thinking to notice the brunette with the low ponytail heading her way, too busy to see his wide, shocked golden eyes as she ran into him.

With a painful crash she landed on top of him, her school books and empty bento lying in the middle of the hallway traffic. She felt her face heat up the tiniest bit and crowded students stopped and stared at the mess that was Taruto and Pudding on the floor.

A few immature middle-school snickers filled the air as Pudding apologized a few times hurriedly and tried to collect her things.

She found it very curious that he stood so slowly and had such a wide look on his face. Wide because his eyes still looked open with shock and his mouth so small it reminded her of a mouse. She smiled apologetically and turned away, scurrying to her next class; but the whole way she smiled inside to herself at how funny it was to – literally – bump into him again, just as she had hoped for.

--------

Perhaps a minute – or maybe just under one – before it happened, Taruto got a vision in his mind of running into a blonde-haired girl just about his height, and having them fall to the floor together.

Briefly he had the chance to wonder who she was and why he had the vision when – all too abruptly – it happened.

She had been fast-walking and moving without seeing where she was going, her mind obviously preoccupied with other thoughts. And in that pithy moment that he blinked, the next thing he knew he was underneath her, a sweet, succulent smell filling his nose.

It smelled like banana custard with whip cream, but laced with something tart like dark chocolate chips. It took the vampire boy a moment to realize that it was _her_, and not just a perfume or shampoo of hers but **her blood**.

Taruto froze in place beneath her and stared up at nothing, his mind automatically making his teeth bite down on his lower lip to ease the sudden growth in his canines. He almost could see his pupils contract in the reflection of her own eyes before she was pulling herself off of him, apologizing multiple times for running into him.

For a vampire it was strange to not be able to hear anything. In that moment that she was pulling away, something told him to go after her. Something said for him to pull her back down and … and … kiss her? Bite her? He wasn't sure which; they both sounded good. A blush crept onto his face and he moved like a dazed robot into stand position, watching her walk away, nothing in his ears but a fading heartbeat.

_What … what is this feeling?_ He was **so** terribly confused.


	7. Blood Preference

**A/N: **Another fun oen to write. And look, looook! My PaiXLettuce comes in. I'm knocking out these pairing moments, aren't I? But by now you're probably wondering: 'Hey, where the hell is my Kichigo? I want those damn Kichigo moments, bitch!' And you know what? You'll get them, all of you. I promise. And there will be so much of it later on that you'll go: 'Hey, I miss my PaiXLettuce and TarutoXPudding moments! Where'd they go?! I'm sick of Kichigo!' And then I'll laugh at you and tell you to wait and remind you this is mainly KisshuXIchigo.

_Express your thoughts through words, please. LEAVE A REVIEW. -hearts-_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 7  
****_"Blood Preference"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

"ONII-SAN!" Taruto barked when he entered the study, not bother to knock before he burst in through the heavy oak doors.

"Something the matter?" replies the doctor dully, setting down his book and glancing up at the brunette through reading glasses.

"Yes, something's wrong! Today at school …" but then he couldn't finish his sentence. A furious red covered his cheeks and the tips of his ears, and suddenly his anger left him and he couldn't speak.

"What is it, Tart-onii?" Pai says the tiniest bit more gently.

"Well, um …" and then he sighed. He decided not to tell but to ask. "Can a vampire fall in love with a human?"

Pai looked slightly taken aback for a minute, although the emotion hardly passed his face. He'd lived so long that he'd learned to control most of his emotions, to keep them hidden away from other so not to cause alarm. Because sometimes, certain emotions can say things you don't want said. So out of habit, now, Pai doesn't feel much outwardly. "Where did this come from?" he says almost lightly, as if it were a teasing joke.

"Anou …" he tried, but then he decided once again not to explain himself the right way. "I was just wondering for Kisshu's sake. I kind of was reading a poem or lyric of his, and it hinted that he might be falling for someone here." He didn't like lying to Pai, but it was all he could do to save his own emotions.

Pai's eyebrows twitched, as if he were about to frown. "Oh?" he inquires. "That's interesting. But to tell you the truth, Taruto, vampires can. We were human once, after all. It's not uncommon, although it's more common for two vampires to fall in love; like species and all that."

Tart nodded vaguely. "Mn."

"Let me ask you something, Tart … have you ever been around a human who had blood that smelled so string you wanted to do something to them? Something you wouldn't normally do?"

_Does … does he know already?! He can't read minds, but … _"A-are you saying this because of Kisshu-nii?"

Slowly Pai nodded. "Yes, actually. But please answer, it's kind of important. I have to know this now, or else things may turn for the worst later."

Taruto hesitated, not sure what to say. Will Pai be angry if he says 'yes'? Will he make them move out of Tokyo – or even Japan altogether – if he admits what happened earlier that day? If so, maybe it would be best to lie and say 'no'. But then again, what if – by lying – things 'turn for the worst'?

"What's wrong? Why aren't you answering? It's a simple question, Nii-san." Pai says as kindly as his long-trained voice was able.

"Y … no. I haven't met anyone like that yet."

"That's good. Taruto, you know that sex-talk parents give children when they're ready?" Pai says after a little while, standing up and walking over to the lit fireplace.

Taruto sits down in one of the chairs by the desk and looks at the man who turned him, his 'brother', suspiciously. "Yeah…?"

"Well, what I'm about to tell you is kind of like that, only the vampire version. Do you know why I'm telling you this all of a sudden?" Pai inquires and turns his head slightly to look at Tart's face.

The younger boy shakes his head. "Why?"

The lavender-haired man begins pacing while he speaks, a unusal look on his face. "Because I'm afraid Kisshu might go overboard with this. If he's already expressing himself through poetry or song, then I know him well enough to say that things will probably go downhill from there. I can't promise that anything bad will happen, but I fear it might, and with it, you may fall as well. I've been lucky enough not to have any temptations now that I'm living back in Japan, the place of my birth. But if two of our three is suddenly in love or lusting after some human, things will turn for the worst for sure. I'm relieved to hear that you're safe from this, though. But you know what?"

"H-huh?" Tart says, a little afraid now.

"I'm not giving you the 'vampire-sex-talk' by saying that. Let me explain to you something we vampires refer to as 'blood preference' …"

Pai sat down finally, taking the sofa across the room with a casual folded-legged position. Taruto waited, wondering what he would say now.

He leans down with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his palms. "Blood preference is a scent, or type of human blood, that we're born to find. We never know what it is until we find that certain person, or throughout our long life spans, certain person**s**, with that blood type. Sometimes they're related and sometimes they just have similar personalities, but wither way they usually happen to be of the opposing gender or gender of your sexuality from when you were a human. The problem with people who suit your blood preference if that your vampirisms will go out of control. Your teeth will automatically grow whenever you're too close to that person, and your eyes may contract or your sense of right and wrong may diminish. And the worst part is wanting to jump and suck out that person's blood, no matter how you may feel about them … and in most cases, the vampires fall in love with that human. Personally, I've had two women that affected me as such. Poor Kisshu technically has this as his first time, but knows what to expect thanks to my warnings, so he came to me about it as soon as he expected it. But with you, Taruto, I just hope it never comes to be. You're a bit too young still to have something so strong forced upon you."

Shamefully, Tart looked down to avoid seeing Pai's eyes. "Actually, Onii-san … I'm afraid … I may have found her today. I lied earlier. I'm so sorry."

Pai twitched as if he wanted to go over and slap Taruto, but then sighed and came over to hug him instead. "That's alright." He pulled away and looked at the boy's honey-colored eyes. "I told you all that in hopes of getting the truth out of you. I had a feeling when you hesitated and said 'y' before 'no'," he smiled.

"Well, I also lied to save my skin when I said I found lyrics about it. But I do wonder if maybe Kisshu will love her like I think I may be starting to with mine."

Pai did frown this time, like how he actually smiled a moment ago. "What do you mean? You can't be in love with her after one day, can you?"

Taruto looked around the room, his eyes doing a full circle before he looked at Pai again. "Well, maybe … just … I felt something, and it was so strong –"

Pai chuckled lowly, it sounding more like a cough than a laugh. "Oh no, no, dear brother. That was simply the affect of her blood to you. I doubt it was love."

"Oh," he sighed.

"Now, where's Kisshu? He should be home soon."

--------

But the forest-haired boy wasn't home soon. It was a constant struggle at school that whole day, every minute feeling like an hour whenever that pink-haired girl even came close. Her dark strawberry locks and deep brown eyes and silky neck flooded his mind the whole day like a watery plague, threatening to drown his senses until he drank her blood and got it over with.

And he nearly had let it.

Twice that day he had come far too close for comfort to grabbing her by the shoulders and jabbing his teeth into her throat. But he had saved himself each time by sneaking off to the bathroom and biting himself instead. He hated the taste of his blood, being old and stale from not being pumped through for so many years. And each time he had to do it, that nasty taste brought him back to his senses and took his mind immediately off of **_her._**

Speaking of which, he ironically enough he found out her name to be Ichigo, which suited her perfectly in more than one way. It was curious thing, this 'lusting' he felt for her; because part of it didn't seem vampire-like at all. Part of it was her thin curves and her juicy lips, part of it something else. Because it wasn't lusting when later, on his walk home, he remembered overhearing her laugh at lunch in the classroom or the sound of her racing heartbeat in gym. There was something about the way she moved and the way she spoke that he liked; something that wasn't lust anymore.

_What the hell could it be?_

Little did he know that it was the beginnings of a crush, perhaps even a love …

--------

"Zakuro-san, is it ready to take to the customer?" Lettuce asked quietly from the café's kitchen door.

Zakuro nodded, a few locks of her purple hair falling in front of her shoulders. "Here."

"Arigato! I'll make sure they get it right away," she said softly before she was only a light green blur down the hall.

Lettuce was on her way and handed the tiny slice of delicate chocolate mousse pie to the customer, a smile on her face. "Anything else?" asked Lettuce in her unsteady English.

"No, thank you," replied the woman also in English, a smile on her face as she picked up her fork.

The teen nodded and went back to usual station at the door. "Please come this way, Sir," she smiled shyly, leading the way to a one-seated table. "What would you like to order?"

"Just a coffee, please. Black. I heard it's very good here," the man added, his voice sounding like it was almost smiling, although his lips hardly moved. Lettuce admired his doctor scrubs and intelligent look in his eye and accidentally blushed as she turned quickly away to get his order.

--------

Pai refused to admit to anything he didn't like, and he certainly didn't like the wave of tangy lime that omitted from his waitress, something that reminded him of margaritas or key lime pie. It annoyed him that she was practically in his blood preference, and that all of this was happening too fast. Only about 5 days after living here and his whole group is engulfed in blood preferences? It was intolerable and inane. Maybe it was his nostalgia for the place he was born in that brought him bad luck, some kind of karma catching up with him for returning. Whatever it was it wasn't good, and at the moment he just wanted his coffee to go, and to go _now_.

"Um, here you are, S-sir," she shuttered, a funny look in her cerulean eyes behind those round spectacles; just like the ones he used for reading. She looked like she wanted something from him, and not just a tip. But surely he was imagining things!

"Arigato," he said lowly and emotionlessly, which seemed to pain her. He paid for it and stood, leaving the café right away with a look of his own plastered on his face. But behind that mask of a look there held something else deep in his eyes, something only his haunting memories could identify.


	8. Insensible Nothings

**A/N: **Oh, oh my. I ... I ... oh my. Just read, please. D:

_And don't forget to review. It means a lot to me of you do; I'm a review-whore, after all. _

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 8  
_"Insensible Nothings"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

"Hey Lettuce-chan, what does this word mean?" Ichigo asked about a week later, on a Thursday. She was studying for her big vocabulary unit in Literature class the next day.

"Gomen, Ichigo-san, but shouldn't you have studied a little earlier for this?" replies the brainiac while pushing her glasses up higher on her nose with her index finger. "And that's 'insensible'. It means to have no senses, to become numb."

"Numb, huh? I better write that down next to it so I remember …" the strawberry girl mutters in reply, ignoring her friend's first comment, even though it was out of concern and not scolding.

Minto came in just then, seating herself down at the table in the library. It was after-hours; the part of the day where clubs and sports meet, but in this case, the three girls had planned a study session. Lettuce was mostly aught up and knew her material, but she was there for her friends' sake. How can she just leave when she knew they needed her help? Besides, they didn't abuse her tutoring or company like some of her old so-called friends from back in middle school and elementary school.

"I can't believe the huge math test my teacher is giving me tomorrow," she scoffs, taking out a nail file. Mint took things personally, even though sometimes (in different cases) she acts like it doesn't affect her. "What about you, Ichigo? What tests do you have?"

"Uhg, **Literature**; it's one of my worst subjects!" groans the brown-eyed girl, her head meeting the table with a _thwack_. "I can't do this," she adds in a mumble into the fake wood.

Mint briefly pats her comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's okay, we're all suffering. …Well, everyone except Lettuce over there." She adds with a smile and shoots and fake glare at Miss Smarty-Pants.

"N-nani? I … I'm not _th-that_ smart! Just … well … anou …"

"Face it, Lettuce, you're better at academics than me or Minto-chan will ever hope to be," Ichigo says lightly, lifting her head form the table.

"Hey!" Mint says with a miniature smack to Ichigo's head. "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you are! I just don't like putting in too much effort, it might strain my brain."

"Lazy ass…" Ichigo mutters under her breath.

"I HEARD THAT!" Mint barks at her, smacking her again.

Nervously (because she doesn't like fighting very much), Lettuce clears her throat. "Um, how about we get back to studying …" but she drifted off as something came into her line of sight.

There was a pause, and Mint looked at her. "Lettuce? Hullo?"

"Lettuce-chan?" Ichigo tries.

"Hulloooo?" Minto says again, waving her hand in the girl's face.

That got her attention. She stiffened and smiled blankly. "G-gomenasai. It's just … I got this weird f-feeling a second ago. Did you see that?" she points to a row in between a set of bookcases, and both girls turn their heads to see what she had seen.

Only, it looked like not a single thing has been there. Ichigo frowns. "Are you sure you saw something?"

"Well, I … yeah. A-are you telling me he isn't there?!" she panics.

"_He_?" Mint says slowly, turning back to her friend. "'He' who? Someone we know?"

"Hai … I think it was the, uh, new boy. Kisshu."

"Kisshu?" Mint and Ichigo say in unison, completely at a loss. Why would he be there near them or in a library at all? He hardly seems like the type to read…

"Kisshu…" Ichigo repeats in a whisper not audible to either of her friends. For some reason, that name rolled off her tongue and seemed to fit perfectly. _Kisshu. _

--------

"Chikushou!" curses the golden-eyed vampire, his fist slamming into the cement wall of a nearby building. "How could I be so – _arrrhg_!" He cursed a few more times, some of it in English, and not very pretty words if that. "I should know better! But … something about her … No, no! These thoughts have to get out of my head! I can't let …" he sighs then, picking up his angry demeanor once again. "Tch. She doesn't even know how attractive her blood is, or her face…"

After a moment of breathing hard, he pulls his fist away from the wall and gins at how his knuckles aren't even scratched. Kisshu looks up at the sky then, grey clouds peaking out from between the tops of the two tall buildings this little alleyway is created from. He smirks at the sheer black off to the west, knowing that a storm would be coming soon; perfect, he loved thunder storms.

--------

"Have you seen Taru-Taru? I can't find him anywhere, no na da!" Pudding asked a couple girls in her class.

"Who's that?" asked one.

"Do you mean Taruto?" asked the other.

The blonde nodded. "Pudding wants to walk home with him, but he's gone missing!"

"Actually," says a boy who happened to be walking by, "I think I saw him leave early, something about his older brother or something." He rolled his dark blue eyes, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.

Pudding frowned at him. "Wait a second … you're Lettuce-onee's nii-san!" she giggles.

The boy nods. "That's right. Anyway, if you want to catch up to him, you better get going now."

Almost as if a light bulb went on in the girl's mind, she snapped into attention and dashed off, wanting to catch up to her new friend.

Because ever since they fell down that day about a week ago, she's been curious about him. So, out of habit, she tried becoming friends with the strange new boy whenever she saw him.

And today, she hoped, she could get a good long talk with him by walking home with him. "Taru-chan!" she sing-songed when she spotted his figure in the distance, walking down the same sidewalk she was. He seemed to freeze in place and look over his shoulder fearfully, as if he didn't want that voice to be the one he thought it was.

Fortunately and unfortunately for Taruto, it **was **that person's voice. Sheepishly, he turned around on that grey afternoon and slung his hand behind his head, a queer grin on his face. "K-konnichiwa, Pudding-san."

She gave him a pouty look and asked sweetly, "Can I walk home with you, Taru-Taru?"

"Um, uh … sure, I guess. And hey! Don't call me 'Taru-Taru', it's demeaning." He sputters, that strong, delicious smell coming from her breath and hitting his face, rendering him all but speechless. He could barely think of what to say, so he said most whatever came into his mind.

"Yay!" she squealed, looping her backpack's other strap over her shoulder, evening out the weight. "Pudding as hoping you would say yes! She wanted very much to talk with you! …And why not, na da? 'Taru-Taru' is kawaii! It matches you perfectly!"

"No it _doesn't_! …Wait … are … are you speaking in 3rd-person?" Tart inquires, not quite sure what else to say.

"Huh? – Oh… does it bother you? I almost always talk that way, no na da!" she says happily, glad that he was talking back. Usually he seems to avoid her, and even now he seemed uncomfortable, but at least he was talking.

--------

He tried not to let it affect him, he bit his lip hard until his eyes watered, trying not to let that intoxicating scent bother him as he walked along side her. The dull, vague light coming from behind the storm clouds bounced off her skin, making her seem glow with an opaque light.

She was so cute, and after being the same age for 26 years he knew by watching other girls that people like Pudding would grow up to be something extraordinarily beautiful, and just the thought of her becoming that without him almost hurt him, and he outwardly frowned.

"Taru-chan? Something wrong, na da?" she said after a moment.

He shook his head straight away, trying not to let her see what his eyes held. "No, no, everything's fine," he laughs nervously; so nervously that he forgets himself and speaks in English.

She cocks her head and stares at him with her huge brown eyes. "Eh? What did you say?"

"Oops," he replied in Japanese. "Gomen; I just meant that there's nothing wrong. So, um, anyway, where do you live? This whole time I've just been walking to my house, but we could have already passes yours for all I know!" Taruto wasn't good at making small talk, so usually questions paired with excuses come to his head. In this case, a simple 'where do you live' paired with an 'I'm not a stalker, I'm just saying because blah blah blah'.

She puzzled that for a second and takes in her surroundings. "Well, Pudding lives over that way –" and she points ahead past a group of apartment buildings, "– Demo…" and then she frowns, like she can't figure something out.

"But what?"

"The way we're headed, it's towards the rich people's houses! Is Taru-Taru rich?"

The boy laughs at that because of the way she worded it and how her voice made the words. "Um, well, I guess you could say we're rich. Onii-san is a doctor, and a pretty good one, too."

"Ohh! So you have a brother, too? I have lots, and one sister." The girl replies, happy to talk about her family. She loves them and works hard at the café to help pay for them, since her dad can only send so much when he's on his travels.

"Oh, really? Well, uh, I have another brother, too. He's in high school."

She grinned. "So are Pudding's friends Lettuce-onee and Ichigo-onee and Minto-onee! Do you think he knows them?"

"Ichigo…?" Something clicked in his head, and Taruto remembered a few days ago, on Sunday, when Kisshu finally told him and Pai who his blood preference's name was. _Momomiya Ichigo. _"Y-yeah, he knows them, I think…"

Pudding had no idea what he really meant, so she took it as a good thing. "Yay! Then maybe we can all play together sometime! Ooh, or we could all go out for snow cones! Do you like snow cones, Taru-chan?"

Taruto put on a lopsided smile, part of him not wanting to disappoint her. "Sure, I love snow cones." _Well, I remember loving them, anyway. I can't taste much human food anymore, nothing but temperature and is it has salt in it or not, if it's liquid or solid. Other than that, I really don't taste. It's funny, because there seems like more downsides to being a vampire than upsides. _Tart thought to himself while Pudding began talking about plans they could all do together.

"…And we can invite Zakuro-onee, and maybe even Keiichiro-senpai and Shirogane-senpai! What about this weekend, ne? Weekends are good!"

He tried to feel nothing, tried so hard to just smile and reply, keeping his fangs in check and his non-beating heart from bursting. "Uh, sure. I'll talk to Pai-onii about it…"

"Yayyy!" she cheered with a hop-skip. "Pudding is so happy, no na da!"

_I'm happy, too, in a twisted sort of way, _Tart thought as they reached his curb. "Ja, Pudding."

"Bai-bai!" she giggled and waved before scampering off in a different direction, heading for her own home.

Taruto sighed and unlocked his front too, muttering a 'I'm home' to the thin air. Pai worked this afternoon and Kisshu always seems late to come home. So there was nothing for Tart to do other than to grab a sip form the fridge and play a game until someone arrives. …

--------

_'Insensible' … that's a good word; it fits what I'm trying to do each and every day for the past week. Ironic that Ichigo was asking about that word today, _Kisshu thought to himself as he walked (rather than teleported so not to be accidentally seen using his abilities in the day) to his favorite place in Tokyo.

As Kish trudged up the stairs to the roof with a water tower on top of it, he vaguely smiled despite himself as he thought of Ichigo's puzzled I-don't-get-it-at-all face. _It looks so cute on her … _A dark thought entered his mind then, making his smile turn wicked. _…But I bet she would look even cuter with fear in her eyes and blood trickling out the corner of her mouth. _

At last he reached the rooftop, and he jumped up to the legs of the water tower, enjoying the sunset behind the dark clouds. The contrast was breathtaking, the sharpness of the heavy charcoal clouds against the pinks and oranges, a tint of yellow streaming down from the cracks in the angry cloud cover. It was almost poetic or symbolic, like a pure soul mingling with a vampire. _Wonder who they could be? _Kisshu mused, knowing full well that he was thinking of himself and Ichigo.

"What a tragic romance that could be," he said aloud, standing up on the metal, one hand lingering on it's rusting surface. "If you let me, that is. Would you, Ichigo?"

_Would you let me love you if I accepted I could? Would you give yourself to me, your mind, body, and heart? _

_I would like that, I hope you know. To feel your heart in the palm of my hands, beating erratically at my touch, the blood pumping in and out … _

_Sounds tasty. I bet you would like it, too, koneko-chan. If you came to love me, that is. If you let me, that is. And that is all I want, I think ..._

_Maybe. _


	9. The Storm Will Tear Us Apart

**A/N: **Sorry for the skippy-ness of this chapter. It comes together in the end.

_Mmm, juicy chapter. You'll see what I mean near the end. _

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 9  
_"The Storm Will Tear Us Apart"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

_They taped over your mouth  
__Scribbled out the truth  
__With their lies,  
__You little spies.  
__They taped over your mouth,  
__Scribbled out the truth  
__With their lies,  
__You little spies.  
__…Crush, crush, crush, crushcrush… _

Paramore's **Riot!** CD blasted over Ichigo's computer speakers, the volume turned up almost as high as it would go. It was an American CD, all in English, but that didn't bug her. She only knew a few words, but only out of memorization and not understanding. But that's okay, because she found someone's Japanese translations for a few songs on the internet. Most of the songs had a good beat or good lyrics to them, so she downloaded the whole CD off of iTunes.

With the beat she bounced around her room, trying out some dance moves she picked up. This was Ichigo's way of getting the thunderstorm out of her mind, since it was night now and the clouds that had been threatening all day to pour down finally had. It was a bad one, too; the lightning streaked the sky in thick flashes, sending deafening waves of thunder rolling in after them. It was scary the way the wind blew the rain around, making noises against the side of her house like a African lion waiting to pounce on it's prey.

She jumped as one shriek of thunder sounded in the sky, paired with a bright flash of lightning which – even though Ichigo didn't know it – hit a tree and knocked down a power line, enclosing her home in darkness. Her computer shut off, the music draining from her room, leaving her in nothing but a pool of black. Ichigo let out a whimper and sunk to the floor. "I just _hate_ storms."

--------

"I just _love _storms!" Kisshu resounded in his room with a yell as loud as the thunder.

"Kish-oniiiiii!" squealed a voice as someone came running into his room. It was Taruto, of 'course. Poor kid; it was raining the night he was nearly killed, giving him bad memories. Sometimes, even though he was about 40 years old or so (technically, but his body is only 13/14.), he acts like he's 6 during bad storms. And so, while acting 6 years old, he clings to Kisshu's shirt like a security blanket. "Kish-nii, Kish-nii…"

"What?" he said with a sigh; he wasn't very good at comforting people. Sweet-talking them, but not comforting.

"Pai-oniisan isn't home yet," he whispered, barely audible over the whooshing of the rain and sessions of thunder. "Normally he would be home by now … where do you think he is?"

The green-haired vampire pets the other's head like a dog, trying to comfort him. "Hey, I bet he'll be home soon enough. He's probably just having a late night at the hospital or trouble getting home in the rain or something, alright? Calm down," he says soothingly, or the best as he was able.

"Okay," Taruto sniffs, burying his head in Kish's chest.

A sudden wave of old human emotions filled him then, paired with water filling his eyes. Kisshu had real family once, a mother and a little sister and brother, two fraternal twins. A tear spilled over, and as unlike a vampire as it was, Kisshu held Tart in return, thinking vaguely of his little brother.

Sometimes the years of isolation and extended life doesn't mature you, but instead reverts you back into childhood. This was the case for Tart, because he wasn't very mature to begin with; always stubborn and mouthy, and a bit of a prankster. But over the years he got over some of those traits and turned more mature in that way, but part of him just slowly ebbed away, making him more like a child. Poor Taruto technically wasn't cut out to become a vampire.

"Hey, Taruto, I think I hear Pai. Why don't you go check?" he said softly.

For a brief moment, Taruto looked up at him and in the dark Kisshu saw his human bother's face instead of his vampiric brother's. "Okay," he said in his own voice, breaking the illusion. The younger boy lets go and turns, heading out of the room. He disappeared as he faded into the dark, and it took Kisshu a second to realize that the power had gone out.

--------

It might've been a stupid idea, but on his way home Pai stopped by the café for a coffee, since even as a vampire, bitter black coffee tastes kind of good, although not as good as he remembers it when he was human. Either way, he thought stopping by the café was something he needed to do, like there as something other than coffee there for him to enjoy.

And it wasn't until he saw her with a co-worker that he remembered that other enjoyable thing. He cursed at himself in his mind, furious that he even came. _Pai, you can be a real idiot despite your intelligent demeanor! _The lavender-haired man thought to himself as he ordered the same thing he had before, but to a navy-haired waitress this time.

--------

"You should bring him the coffee, Lettuce." Mint winked as she came back into the kitchen.

"No, no, I couldn't…" she blushes in reply. "He's so m-much older than me, and I think he w-was mad the last time he was here…"

Her friend gave her a playful nudge. "Not that much; he's probably in his early 20's and you're 17. Not too shabby."

"M-Minto-san…" she stuttered, "You're h-horrible!"

But she just shrugs and smiles, almost as if she knew that she was 'horrible'. "Zakuro-nee, want to take this coffee to –"

"Never mind, I'll j-just do it," Lettuce blushes and grabs that ready coffee from Mint's hands. _I can't believe I'm doing this …_

--------

Pai tapped impatiently on the tabletop, ashamed of himself. He was only torturing his senses by smelling whiffs of her all over the place. _When she arrives I'll just take the coffee, pay for it, and leave, just like last time. I can't talk to her … I can't let myself get involved. She's in my blood preference, and if I get too intimate … but she is so young. She probably won't agree to anything, anyway. I just have to deal with this like I have in the past. I'm an experienced vampire, after all. _

And now there Pai was, a while later, entering his home with a half cup of coffee and a dark semi-smile that wouldn't go away.

Tart came running to him, traces of already shed tears on his face, mumbling incoherently about the storm outside. It was a good distraction, though; Pai needed it to ignore the thoughts about that cerulean-eyed girl he had in his mind. …

--------

It was a devious, awful idea Kisshu had growing in his mind, and he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't … well, actually, he _could,_ but that was hardly the point. It was more like a question of**_ will_** he … will he go over to her house tonight? The storm should drown out any sound he would make, and he was aching to see Ichigo's face, and to _smell her_ …

The sum of all of that decided for him: he was going to teleport to her room in the middle of the night when she was most likely to be asleep. Midnight sounded like a good time. …

--------

_I wonder if Kisshu really was in the library earlier today, _Ichigo thought while she lay tucked beneath her sheets. It was warm and soft, the mattress matching the shape of her thin curves. It was a safe place, in your bed in the dark. It covers your whole body and caresses your physique, lulling you to sleep through the storm with warmth. Her hand started going numb under her pillow, so she flipping onto her back, staring up at the ceiling wistfully. _For some reason, I keep thinking I see that boy around school, always in my peripheral vision. He's not stalking me, is he? – No, no, probably not. Maybe I imagine it; wait, does that mean I want him to be near me?! _

Her thoughts kept swimming around in her mind, overlapping each other. It was causing quite a ruckus in her head.

"Just go to sleep, baka," she muttered aloud to herself.

--------

At first, he accidentally teleported to the place beneath her bedroom window where a huge tree stood. At the last minute he had thought by mistake of the outside of her home since he realize that he's never seen the inside of her room, so he couldn't teleport directly there. This left him in the rain, tiny rolls of thunder rumbling here and there along with strings of lightning. With a cold breath he could see in the vague light (since vampires have better night vision than humans; a plus side to turning vamp) a tiny balcony in front of her sliding windows.

"That helps," he grins. _With that balcony I can look into her room through the window and picture myself inside, which makes me teleport. Perfect. _

With a few leaps he was up in the boughs of the tree, and with a few more he was on her balcony, peering inside. Then he was gone.

--------

There was a sound like the soft _thump_ of feet on carpet and a _plip, plip_ of water drops hitting an already wet surface. Ichigo had been dozing, nearly asleep, but immediately her eyes flew open and she sat up in bed.

_Shit, I think she heard me, _Kisshu panicked.

"H-hullo?" she said slowly, using an English phrase without thinking much about it. Her voice came out weak and dry, and she reached over for the water bottle on her end table, taking a tiny sip.

She heard something like a 'humph' in reply. The strawberry girl bit her lip and dropped her water bottle, but it didn't hit the floor or her bed.

Instead she saw a flash of lightning, which gave her enough light to briefly see a hand holding her bottle and setting it back on the table. "M-mom? D-dad?" she whimpered, hoping it was one of them; please, **please** let it be one of them.

There was a soft, gentle laugh, and for some reason her heart slowed it's racing. "No, not them," came a whisper. She was about to scream, but a finger stopped her lips and presses against them, closing them shut. "Shh, shh," said the voice sweetly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

It was so scary, so, **so **scary. Someone in her room? At night? What else would they want other than to murder her or rape her? And it was a male voice, too. _He just has to be lying. He's going to hurt me, I know it. Oh Kami, oh Kami …_ she screamed mentality.

She began to hyperventilate, breathing hard through her nose since her mouth was still covered by that one index finger. "Calm down, Ichigo. I told you I wasn't going to hurt you. Will you scream if I let go?"

She shook her head 'no', anything so he wouldn't hurt her.

"Good girl," the boy whispered, for now she recognized the voice to be young, maybe not too much older than her. He lifted his finger, and she exhaled through her mouth. "You have such soft lips," he added, a smile in his tone.

"Who are you?" she whispered, trying not to panic.

"Just a visitor; I was hoping you'd be asleep when I came, or at least that you would hear me. Too bad, because you did; I didn't want to show myself."

**_"Who are you?" _**she repeated coldly. She didn't like this at all. Just whop the hell was in her bedroom so late at night?

"A friend from school," he told her. "But I doubt you know me. I'm Kisshu, the new guy."

Her face heated up for a reason she didn't know, her heart beating faster again. "Kisshu?" she asked, mimicking his expressionless tone. "I see … yes, that makes sense. Your voice sounds like his."

"You're not acting yourself," he stated suddenly, sitting down on the side of her bed. "Are you afraid?"

"Well of 'course I'm afraid!" she snapped, her voice rising slightly. "I have a boy in my room! At _night_!"

He chuckled lowly, the sound a little eerie. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to see you. Do you know how pretty you are, koneko-chan?"

She scowled at his shadowed figure, wishing she had some light.

_This is wonderful, _Kish thought to himself as he stared across the way at her, his nightly vision enabling him to see a few details. _Her whole room smells like sweet-tart strawberries; simply mouthwatering. I wonder if I can get close enough to sniff her hair … or her neck. _He grinned, and thankfully Ichigo couldn't see it with her human eyes (and the absence of lightning; for now there was only the dull drilling of rain, pounding against he sides of the house from the wind).

"Leave," she said bitterly.

"Pardon?" he smiled.

She plopped down on her bed and faced away from him, closing her eyes with disgust. "I said 'leave'. You shouldn't be here, no one should. I should be able to sleep alone in my bedroom at night. Now go."

"That's no way to treat a guest; I haven't done anything to you, and I'm being quite civil." He replied, something cocky hidden in his voice.

"Civil? What do you mean, 'civil'? Are you not civil normally or something?" she retorted, her heart beating faster. A tiny voice in her head was freaking out, telling her that something was wrong here (besides the fact that a teenaged boy was in her room).

_Oops, my bad. I didn't mean to hint. But I doubt she's bright – or crazy enough – to think that it means I'm a vampire. _"Did I say that? I just meant that I'm not really doing anything wrong."

"Except breaking and entering!" she informed him. "Now go, okay?"

"Ichigo, Ichigo … why won't you just admit that you like me? I saw you blush earlier."

"Blush…? But… it's dark in here. How can you see a blush? Or anything at all?"

_Oops, strike two. I got to watch my mouth. _"I, uh … meant in school, silly. In school I saw you blush." _Nice save, _he congratulated himself.

"Oh…" she mumbled into her pillow. Regretting it as soon as she did it, Ichigo turned and looked at him. "Well, maybe I could same the same for you. Why else would you be in my room unless you liked me?"

_I … I don't know. I thought, maybe, I would make you love me to get your body and your blood, but maybe there's something else to this here … do I love you, Ichigo? I asked myself not too long ago: **"Would you let me if I accepted I could?" **as in, "Would you love me if I accepted that I might love you?" …And I haven't answered that question yet. But maybe now's the time. _Kisshu analyzed, trying to sort out the things going through his head. With a sigh he looked away from her, smirking while he spoke, "You're right; I do like you. You might even say that I loved you since I met you. Hell, you can even go as deep as 'in love' if you put it in a certain way," he confessed, but it came out differently than it should've, but that was because Kish was who he was.

This left Ichigo speechless, and as soon as she was about to murmur something reply, he vanished before her eyes. After a moment of confusion she yawned, realizing that she was terribly sleepy. With half a thought left she drifted off into sleep.

The next morning, she thought Kisshu – and the storm – had only been a dream.

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**A/N: **Yeah, okay, so ... I took the whole 'Kisshu goes into her room in the middle of a storm at night' partly from Tokyo Mew Mew where he's outside her room her in her tree or something a lot, and someone else's fanfiction where he's in her room, watching her sleep, AND from Jacob in Twilight (actually, New Moon) when he visits Bella when it's raining. So, yeah, it's a combination. But did you like? I DID.

_Review pleaseeeee. I beg you since I'm a review-whore! -hearts-_

_P.S. THE NEXT CHAPTER IS MY FAVORITE SO FAR.  
It'll be titled: "Comatose Is My Reprieve"  
--You'll all love it, I promise. -more hearts-_


	10. Comatose is My Reprieve

**A/N:** I don't know if you noticed, but I've been using 'Lettuce' instead of 'Retasu'; there's a reason for that. Since in Japanese our 'R's are used as 'L's (like 'Kirara' from InuYasha is 'Kilala' in the English dub, and if you listen carefully, also in the original Japanese version), if I write Retas(-u) it sounds just like Lettuce(-oo), so I saw not much of a differnce and thought _"Whatever. In the subs I read for the episodes I watched in Japanese (since I NEVER watched Mew Mew Power. I hate it with a passion) 'Lettuce' as her name, so that's what I'll write." _And so I did. Hope you guys haven't been bugged by the whole "Lettuce instead of Retasu" thing. Some people do, and before any random person reviews about it, I thought I'd point this out.

_Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it, mwahahaha. This chapter is realllly 'good', if you know what I mean ... -dark smile-_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 10  
_"Comatose Is My Reprieve"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

_I hope teleporting in front of her like that made her think I was an illusion or something. In the end I babbled about something I should've, and I'm so pissed at myself for saying it. Why does being around her make me do stupid things? I don't think I'm still agreeing with those words. How can I love her, or anyone? I'm a vampire, after all; my heart doesn't beat and I'm a natural killer. But maybe we're not completely heartless… _

In the hours between when he left Ichigo's room and dawn, Kisshu had nothing to do but think. Slowly he noticed how the storm slowed and quieted, until it blew over entirely. He found that the sun was rising to a nearly cloudless sky, and realized with a sigh that he couldn't go to school today. But he probably wouldn't have anyway, due to the fact of what he'd done the night before (or, more of, prior to this morning).

"Well, I guess today is 'family day'; even with Pai's way of withstanding certain amounts of sunlight, I doubt he'll try and go to work today. Oh goody, I get to tell them about where I was last night. And I can't lie very well to Pai; he seems to always know everything. That's just fucking great!" he mumbled to himself with a kick to the wall.

--------

"I'm serious, Minto-chan, it was a really weird dream and you just have to hear it!" Ichigo whined.

"Not interested," her friend replied. "Tell it to someone else; like Lettuce."

"But Mintoooo!" she pleaded. "It was just _too_ weird! Please?"

"No, okay?! Now leave me alone, I'm going to be late to class." And with a huff of a sigh she disappeared into the crowded hallway.

"Fine," grumbled Ichigo. "I'll just tell Lettuce later."

But when 'later' finally came, Lettuce seemed a little fidgety while Ichigo told her about her dream. "I-Ichigo-san, that sounds a little … scary."

"I know. A storm and Kisshu in my room saying he thinks he loves me. Totally freaky, but a pretty interesting dream. The weirdest part of all was when he just disappeared." Ichigo said casually, stealing a piece of strawberry Pocky from Lettuce's lunch. It stuck out of the corner of her mouth like the stick of a lollipop while she sucked off the strawberry-flavored cream.

"Anou, Ichigo … y-you don't think, maybe, it wasn't a dream, do you? Because there was a storm last night." The green-haired girl pointed out.

"Really? Then maybe that's why I dreamt of it. But I could've sworn there wasn't a storm last night because I woke up to sunshine… Oh, wait, I nearly forgot blasting my music to drown out the thunder before the power went out last night. Huh, so there was a storm. But I doubt that Kisshu was in my room, talking to me. That **had** to have been a dream!" she giggled. "It's impossible for him to just appear and disappear in my room."

"I guess so, but … you don't think, maybe… he's a _vampire_, do you?" her bookworm friend replied quietly, looking down at her bento box with no real interest.

Ichigo's facial expression froze in place, her raspberry-colored bangs sliding to the right of her face as she slowly cocked her head. "Kyuu…ketsuki? Kyuuketsuki? How can he be … Lettuce-chan? Are you _serious_?"

"I … I'm not sure. But… he's so pale, and he's never here when it's sunny outside, and I read once that vampires can have special powers. What if he made you dream about him? Or he can turn invisible by will, making him disappear? Or maybe he –"

"Lettuce, you're making no sense!" Ichigo laughed weakly, but something shook in her voice. It was like she was nervous. "I mean, h-how could there be vampires? Th-there's only vampires in books and movies … right? Please tell me you're just trying to scare me," she whispered, grabbing a hold of Lettuce's sleeve.

Her friend's dark blue eyes looked up at her, and she knew she couldn't lie. She's wasn't the kind if person to lie, and hated even the most harmless white lies. "No. Gomenasai, Ichigo-san, but … I'm not joking. What if h-he is a …bloodsucker?"

They both lost their appetites then, packing up what was left of their lunches. For a little while they sat there, silent. Then Ichigo said tonelessly, "Where's Minto?"

"I think she wanted to find Zakuro-sama in the seniors' classrooms during lunch period." Her friend replied, not daring to bring up the kyuuketsuki possibility again.

"Oh," Ichigo nodded. "I almost forgot."

The two girls held a tight silence between them, both mulling over the possibility. They had their doubts, but two words kept popping into their minds: what if?

_What if he's after Ichigo-chan's blood? What if he only told her that he loves her so that he could get to her throat? _Lettuce was thinking.

Where as Ichigo herself thought: _What if it wasn't a dream? What if he really does love me? But what if … too … he's a vampire? – Can the kyuuketsuki even love?_

It was confusing and strange, a little too much to think about at school during lunch. Eventually the two freshmen shook it from their minds, but still they couldn't help but wander back to it afterwards …

--------

"So it's come to this," Pai said softly that afternoon, looking at the bowed heads of his brothers. "You both have fallen for them, have you?"

"Yes, Pai-onee," mumbled Kisshu.

"Sort of," grunted Taruto. He didn't really like having a crush or a blood preference; it didn't suit him. But in the same sense, it **did**.

Pai sighed, his dark lavender bangs grazing his eyes. "I have a bit of a confession to make myself."

Kish raised an eyebrow, waiting for what his older brother had to say. Tart simply glanced upwards, not caring either way.

"I have found someone in my preference as well. I don't love her or want to pursue her, but I must admit that the temptation is strong. But I am very disappointed in you two; especially you, Kisshu. You went into her _bedroom _last night?!" He voice rose a little higher than usual as he stated the last question.

"Um … yes?" the forest-green haired vampire said unsurely. He knew this was coming. He had said it earlier, which only made Pai say, 'So it's come to this…'

Kish wondered if Pai would hit him. Can Pai get violent? He should; he's a vampire, after all.

But, luckily, Pai didn't budge an inch; only sigh out through his nose. "I'm not really your older brother; I'm no where near a father, so I can't punish you or dictate how you choose to live your long life. If you two want to have a relationship with a human, if you two want to turn into killers, if you two want to commit vampiric suicide, I can't stop you. What ever you choose to do, I just hope it's what makes you happy. Whether it's right or wrong or completely insane, it's still your choice; besides, we're already the undead; we have nowhere to go except for Hell when our lives are over. So do what you want now; I'm not going to stop you."

And with that he left them, his cold dark purple-grey eyes closing in a mournful way. If only he could be as free as he was allowing them to be. But that just wasn't possible; he was a respectable doctor and tried his best to be an honorable man, so if he were to … he shook his head to take the thoughts away, because they were bad enough in themselves. Why does Tokyo prove to he such a temptress for them all? It used to be his home long ago, and he hoped it would be again … but what if this was a huge mistake? What if things turn out badly? Pai prayed to Kami that it didn't. It could mean the end of them all.

--------

"Today is Friday, onee-chans!" Pudding sang, running around. She flipped chairs upside-down and set them on tables while she hummed happily to herself; it was closing time at the café now.

"We know, Pudding; so why point it out?" Minto asked, not bothering to help but instead leaned against the cash register counter with Zakuro.

"Because that means my birthday is in two days!!" she giggled excitedly.

"Really? Yay! Are you having a birthday party?" Ichigo asked eagerly while she swept the floor.

"Mhm," the blonde nods. "And you're all invited! Well, not Shirogane-senpai or Keiichiro-senpai, because they're boys. No offense," she added sweetly while winking at them.

"God forbid I was anything else," Ryou replied sarcastically.

Keiichiro gave him a look but turned to Pudding. "Want me to make you a cake?"

"Oh, oh!! Yes, yes _please_!" she says in approval. "Can you write on it in frosting, 'Happy 14th Birthday to Pudding-chan'?"

"I'll do the best I can," the brunette smiles kindly.

"Yay!" Pudding cheers.

Lettuce smiles but slowly worry spreads across her face, and her head bows with a sigh. She couldn't get vampires out of her head all day, and it bringing her into a state of alarm. The whole time since lunch period she's been on her toes, watching her back, and constantly covering her neck at every noise. Why was this making her so shaky? It was all in her head, right? None of what they were talking about at lunch was real, right? Only young girls being silly? **_…Right?!_**

Ichigo's eyes wander over to the green-haired girl, and her brown eyes fill with concern. She sets the broom down now that she was done sweeping and heads over to her friend. "Lettuce-chan? Is something wrong?"

She hadn't realized it, but the stress made her eyes water. When she looked up at Ichigo, all the strawberry girl could see was watery eyes full of fear.

She took in a small breath, similar to a gasp. "Lettuce…"

"You do really think he's a vampire, do you, Ichigo-san?" she whispered.

"Come on you two," Ryou called exasperatingly. "Closing time means we all go home; so unless you want to sleep in an empty building, I suggest you get your little asses out the door."

"H-hai," the girls called back in unison.

"Want me to sleep over at your house tonight, Lettuce-chan?" Ichigo said as they walked out the doors and Ryou locked them from the inside.

"Hai," was all Lettuce could say.

Ichigo smiled softly at her, looping her arm around the taller girl's neck. "Just let me call my parents when we get to your house, then. They won't care in the least."

--------

…But little did she know that Kisshu would care. He wanted to visit her again tonight. And she also didn't know how she seemed to plague his every thought. It was maddening; Kisshu had no idea that he could be one to obsess. But, apparently, when the right thing came along, he did obsess and _very hard_.

Music blasted from the headphones of his iPod at deafening decibels, but it wasn't like he cared. He was a vampire; his ears are just as indestructible as the rest of his body, so it's not like he will lose his hearing. Besides, the blaring music helped keep his mind off of **_that girl_**.

That is, it did until he played Skillet. As lyrics began to fill his brain, he regretted being born in America and coming to love English bands. Since English was the language he knew first, he related to it better. But right now, it wasn't a good thing that he was relating to it; because at that moment the lyrics to 'Whispers in the Dark' came to his ears. …

_Despite the lies that you're making,  
__Your love is mine for the taking.  
__My love is just waiting  
__To turn your tears to roses –  
__I will be the one that's going to hold you.  
__I will be the one that you run to.  
__My love is a burning, consuming fire…_

Immediately he hit the 'next' button on his iPod, cold sweat on his face. Those lyrics made him think of himself, and in turn his new passion for Ichigo, and then his fangs had begun to grow …

The next song was 'Comatose'. That one's better; he can't possibly relate to it since it talks mostly about sleeping, dreaming, and waking up. He can't even sleep, so it shouldn't affect him.

Wrong.

Halfway through the song came the lyrics:

_…I hate living without you;  
Dead wrong to ever doubt you.  
But my demons lay in waiting  
Tempting me away –  
Oh, how I adore you!  
Oh, how I **thirst** for you!  
Oh, how I need you! _

"DAMMIT!" Kisshu cursed, ripping his headphones from his ears. That one word – _'thirst' _– had sent him over the edge. His could feel his sharp fangs pricking his bottom lip, and with his eyes squeezed shut he let them pierce his lip, sour, foul blood dripping down his chin and flowing into his mouth. He spat it out and felt his fangs retract some, but it wasn't working as well this time. Kish grabbed a Kleenex from his bedside table (even though he never sleeps in his bed, it's nice to have; it's comfortable and it's a habit. Plus, if someone ever came into their home for whatever reason, they need to believe that the three men who live there are human, hence a bed in every bedroom), dabbing gently at his lower lip.

"It's not really this bad, is it?" After a second he chuckled darkly. "Fuck, I guess it is."

_It's a full-blown obsession now. I want her, need her,_**love**_ her; not good. She doesn't know how bad this can get … _

"Kisshu-nii?" said Tart's voice suddenly through the door. "You okay? I thought I heard you yell 'dammit'. Did you hurt yourself?"

Vampires can't be hurt by much except for fire, themselves, or other vampires. It's said that werewolves as well, but they're known to be extinct, so you can hardly count it as something to hurt a vampire.

So when Taruto asked this, it seemed completely logical. It was so logical that Kisshu smiled. "Yeah, I accidentally bit my lip when I was lip syncing. I'm fine, though."

"Okay, good." Taruto said as he walked away. "We worry about you sometimes, Kish!" he called as he thumped down the stairs. And then his presence was gone and the green-haired teen loosened. Good thing he was a good liar. But it was half the truth to begin with, so it was even easier.

_Oh, how I adore you …_

But those lyrics kept echoing in his mind like a constant reprieve.

_Oh, how I thirst for you … _

And a damn good reprieve if that. He was going to grant her a little visit again tonight, but after he knows she would already be asleep.

_Oh, how I need you … _

He smirked to himself, satisfied with his decision. Seeing her peaceful, sleeping face in the dark would please him very much. Being in the room filled with her scent is a bonus.

In seconds he was gone, teleporting into the starry night.

--------

Taruto's alarm bells went off in his head, and in seconds he fell to his knees in the living room and held his aching skull, a vision entering his mind.

His eyes popped open when it ended, and he yelled, "Pai! Kisshu's doing it again! _He's going to her house_…"

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**A/N: **Please tell me what you thought of THIS chapter in a review. Becuase now we're getting to what BSB is all about ... XD

_Oh, and by-the-way: This story has the most alerts out of any fanfic I have!! 13 alerts!! That's amazing. And already 23 reviews? I feel so special. Please give me more, more!!!! I'm very greedy, you know. ;D_

_THIS IS RANDOM BUT: I love Daisuke Sakaguchi!! He's the voice of Kisshu. I just love how he voices people. Have you heard him before? He's done, like, a million things. Just look him up on Wikipedia. Gawd I love his voice- ohm nom nom! _


	11. The Rogue Found You

**A/N:** _AUTOMATED RESPONSE:_ _At this moment in time, Arianna has nothing to say ... but she asks you review. Thank you._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 11  
_"The Rogue Found You"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Ichigo sighed while Lettuce slept fretfully next to her, whimpering softly here and there. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at her friend in the dim light, a slimmer of sweat on her forehead. "Lettuce-chan," she whispered.

"Murm-af," the bookworm replied dully.

Ichigo shook her head, her loose raspberry-colored hair falling down her shoulder and resting on her chest. She instinctively looped it behind her ear and reached over to shake Lettuce awake. "Lettuce-chan," she tried again.

"Hn?" she said, coming about. "Nani…" she asked with a yawn.

"I think you were having a nightmare, Lettuce. You were squirming and sweating in your sleep."

"Oh," her friend replied, sitting up as well. "I was… I remember it now."

"What was happening in your dream?"

Tears pooled in her big blue eyes, and she whispered, "He was trying to kill me. His face was so beautiful but then he had fangs…"

"Who, Lettuce-chan?"

She shook her head. "I don't know his name. He's came by twice to the café for coffee… he has a strange shade of purple hair and these weird eyes that look grey but have some other blue-violet color in them… But he was in my dream as a vampire."

Ichigo frowned. "That's weird. But he's not one. And maybe neither is Kisshu… maybe we're just letting our imaginations get the best of us. But I'm glad I was here to wake you because your nightmare seemed pretty bad." She added soothingly, laying a comforting hand on her friend.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Our imaginations must be getting the best of us…"

--------

The second he appeared in her room, he looked to her bed, expecting to find her curvy figure sleeping there. But instead he found a furry bundle at the edge of the bed, the sheets made up neatly beneath it.

_What?! She's not here?! Where is she? – A friend's house, probably, but which one … come to think of it, I don't know any of her friends' names or houses. I know what they look like, though: a cheerleading navy-haired chick and a nerdy green-haired one…Kuso! I **want** her, where is she?!_

Before he could yell and wake everyone in her house, he teleported to his favorite water tower rooftop, immediately punching the metal side of the tower, the vibrations causing him to ear a deep echoing rumble throughout the water inside. _Thrummmm…. _

"CHIKUSHOU!!" he yelled at the night sky.

--------

"Pai, what should we do? "

"Nothing, Tart-nii. There's nothing we can do."

"But what if he tries to –?!"

Pai laid a hand on the younger boy's shoulder to console him. "I doubt he will. Something tells me things will be alright. Now how about a drink?"

"I don't want blood right now," Taruto said with a wrinkle of his nose. "Do we still have some Ginger Ale?"

Ginger Ale, among few other things, are drinks that actually have some taste to vampires. The ginger is strong enough and the carbon-dioxide is textured enough, so it's something most vampires actually enjoy.

"I believe we have a six pack left," Pai said vaguely.

"Good, 'cause I'll have that. Want one with me?"

"No," the man smiled even vaguer.

Taruto frowned at him. "Are you alright, Pai-onii?"

He shook his head. "No, actually. Something won't get out of my head, and I don't like it."

"What's stuck in your head? A song?"

"No, something far worse. But it doesn't matter, so please for about it. Anyway, let's see about that Ginger Ale, eh?"

--------

Pissed off, Kisshu decides to do some exploring. Couldn't hurt, right? Wouldn't be bad if he somehow accidentally found her, right? No harm in that.

Unfortunately for him, the forest green haired vampire had a one-track mind. If you wanted to describe Kisshu, it'd be: passionate, one-track-minded and playful. Despite his anger-issues, he really can be teasing and almost caring, but only if you're worthy of it. But the problem with his one-track mind is … it causes him to become obsessive. In some ways, you can take a rhyme of that word and describe him as 'possessive' as well. If anything else, Kisshu had plenty of flaws.

But that's what made him perfect. Perfect for being a vampire, anyway.

Because the truth is: **he had been a rogue**. He wasn't changed by Pai like Taruto was, only found by him nearly dead, a fresh vampire with someone else's blood on his lips and his own blood pouring out his sides. Pai was, of 'course, already a doctor then. So, being the vampire he was, he took Kisshu in and helped to heal him and control his savage thirst for blood.

Kish himself doesn't know who turned him, but he remembers being human. He doesn't know how he was able to teleport, but he was. There were so many questions left unanswered about him, but he didn't mind that.

The sad thing is how he had been as a human: he had been cocky and flirtatious, and very stubborn. Some of those traits filtered out into his vampire self in some way or another, but mostly he was someone else. A little more reserved, a little more thoughtful; less shallow.

And now, because of that part of his past and the person he is now, it's making him think irrationally. **_What are you doing, Kisshu? Are you out of your mind?_** A tiny voice in the back of his head says. But he pushes what's left of his conscience away. He doesn't need that shit, he tells himself.

--------

Lettuce couldn't sleep for a while after her nightmare, and Ichigo couldn't either. "Ichigo-san? Are you still awake?"

"Yeah… I kind of have a lot on my mind."

"What are you thinking about? – Oh, but not to be rude! I'm just curious."

Ichigo giggles. "No, I know, Lettuce. But, actually … I'm thinking of Kisshu and Aoyama."

"What about them?" she whispers, interested. She herself doesn't have much of a love life unless you include … well, she can't. He's 23 at least, and she's only a newer 17-year-old; that's about a 6 year difference, and Lettuce is much too bashful for something like _that_.

"Well, we all know that Aoyama likes me … and if that dream was real, then Kisshu, too … and I was thinking … I don't like Aoyama, and lately I've wanted a boyfriend, and…" but she drifts off, not quite sure herself where she was going with this. "Uhg, I dunno."

Lettuce sits up, and soon Ichigo is doing the same, and with a deep breath the green-haired girl decides something: she was going to tell Ichigo a little more about the customer from the café. "Anou, Ichigo-san … that reminds me … there's this guy who came in a few times at the café…"

Ichigo's eyes lit up, and she immediately jumped on that. "Really? Is he cute? How old is he? Is he smart?"

In the darkness Lettuce blushed. "That's k-kind of the problem: he's worn doctor scrubs before, so he must be really accomplished, and that's good, but…"

"He's must be in his 20's if he's a certified doctor."

"Hai," Lettuce said sadly.

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Well, I bet the age difference isn't too bad, Lettuce; and who knows, maybe he came back after the first time just to see you."

"Oh no, no _way_. That's not … I mean…" she blushes thrice times over. She shakes her head, her braids falling in front of her shoulders.

The strawberry girl giggles softly and taps Lettuce's arm. "I bet it _is _because he likes you! Kami, Lettuce, you're so lucky! Older guys liking you… I'm jealous."

"No you're not; you have two guys after you."

"If … that wasn't a dream, you mean. But that would mean Kisshu might be a… a…" and she drifted off, not wanting to bring up the kyuuketsuki issue. Because what if it's true?

What would she do if Kish really was a vampire? _Because I … I mean … he's kind of cute, but I guess I don't know him much yet, so I can't be sure if I …_

"Ichigo-san?"

Ichigo snapped herself from her thoughts and smiled. "Yeah?"

"Let's go back to sleep now."

"Un!" Ichigo nods. **Sleep is an excuse from her thoughts. **

-------

Getting anxious, Kisshu teleported street to street, every one in Tokyo he could remember. He peeked in on houses that looked promising, one even being Mint's, although he didn't know it.

_Where is she, where is she? _He growled in his mind. _Smelling her in her room like that didn't help at all. Now I need **her**, the real thing … where is she?!_

But he wouldn't find her, right? There was no way …

But then he came to Lettuce's house later that night. And he knew it was hers because of the bedroom he happened to peek into … And what does he find lying in the bed but Lettuce… _and Ichigo_. "Aha!" he whispered. "I have you now, love…"

But something stopped him. Something told him not to do it because of the other girl. **_An unwanted witness would not be a wise thing to have,_** that little thing told him.

"Fine," he spat to no one. "I'll just wait until school to see her again. But I don't know why I'm listening to you."

But a good thing he was listening to that voice, because Lettuce was actually awake, and just as he left her eyes went to her window when she thought she felt a presence. But, of 'course, no one was there.

_That's as it should be. …_


	12. Let's Get Acquainted

**A/N:** I left this one off in a weird place, aorry. And how come no one reviewed my last update? Made me sad. :'C Was it the automatic service? D:

_Anyway, enjoy this (short? long? average?) chapter... XD_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 12  
_"Let's Get Acquainted"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Taruto had asked what was stuck in Pai's head. He had asked if, maybe, it was a song. But Pai had said it was far worse.

**And it _was_. **

Because what was stuck in Pai's head was a _girl_, the scent and look of her. Shy and sweet, but intelligent. It reminded him of … well, he'd rather not think of that now. Her nametag had read, 'Lettuce'. What a fitting name, considering her hair color. It was a lighter, fresher shade of green than Kisshu's, and it seemed to fit her spectacled blue eyes. She was young, but mature-looking, and yet still holding an innocent feel about her.

**She was perfect. **

But he couldn't love her. It wouldn't be right; he was nearly 2 centuries old, and with the wisdom he's collected throughout his years of a vampire, one thing stood out; and that was not fall for a human. It was dangerous, and is even more dangerous when that human was in your blood preference.

So he tried to forget her, a face he's only seen twice, but a scent he's smelled in the same area many times. **Which means there were times he could have went over to where she was and talked to her, looked at her, maybe found a way to lure her away and bite her … **

_No, no! _Pai forced on his mind. _I would never! I haven't done something like that since I was a new vampire! But … to just talk to her and see her might not be such a bad thing to do … no, no! I must not interact with her! It's for her own safety. …_

-------

School on Monday came fast, and Ichigo hardly thought it fair. The weekend went by too quickly in her eyes. And oddly enough, the day went by pretty fast as well. Before she knew it, it was lunch time. She sat on the steps that lead up to the rooftop doors. The only reason she was alone was becuase Minto was doing a make-up test this period and Lettuce had to help the librarian in the study. But that was okay; sometimes you don't want to be with people at lunch. Sometimes you just want to eat alone in the welcoming silence to think.

If you had something to think about, that is; and Ichigo really didn't. So with a sigh she had gone there to just eat, and she chose these steps since it's a place where Aoyama wouldn't find her. He was cute and all, but really weird. And she knew she was kind of shallow, but she wasn't so shallow to _only_ go for looks. If she was, she'd be dating every boy she saw left and right.

Partway through her bento a notice made her jump as she heard someone open the door to the loft right outside the steps she was sitting on. In seconds a person came through the door and turned to the steps, his head bent low. But his head jerked up and Ichigo swore she saw his nostrils twitch. "What are you doing up here by yourself?" the boy asked playfully.

It was Kisshu, of all people. With a slight grin he came up the steps and sat on one right below her. He tossed his bangs from his eyes and looked up at her. "Oh, um, well … I was just eating. And thinking. That's all," she said weakly.

He smiled and took a sip o the soda he'd been carrying. "I was kind of looking for you, to be honest." He says suddenly.

She closed up her bento, not wanting to eat much anymore. "And what made you think I'd be here?" He shrugs and flashes his golden eyes at her. _What a strange eye color, _Ichigo thinks briefly.

His lips parted and he relied casually, "I didn't; I just gave up and came here like I always do."

"Really?" she says, a little interested. "Why here?"

"I like the roof. High places in general, really. On stormy days I like to sit outside and lean over the edge, looking at the sky," he says honestly. But inwardly he cursed at him. _Why must I feel the need to tell her the truth?! I shouldn't – and don't have to – tell her a thing!_

But she smiled at him, her eyes closing shut momentarily ad she makes a tiny giggle. Then she looks away and says, "That's a funny thing to do. But I can understand; I like to count the sakura blossom petals as they fall. It's just something that eases your mind."

He nods to her, and suddenly Kish feels bold. "Koneko-chan, I'd like to get to know you better. How about we go somewhere after school together?" he asks bluntly.

Her brown eyes go wide for a moment. _He's … asking me out on a date, isn't he?! _She thinks excitedly. "H-hai! I mean, let's! Where to?"

Kisshu smirks to himself because of how bubbly she seems all of a sudden. "I was thinking a cake shop or the park. What do you say?"

"A cake shop sounds good … but it can't be Café Mew Mew because I work there," She winks. "It would be embarrassing to have a date where you – oops!" _I didn't mean to say that it was a date! _she mentally corrects as her hand claps over her mouth.

But the green-haired boy just chuckles, and tells her, "It's okay; I mean it to be a date."

She blushes slightly. "Oh."

With a queer glisten in his eyes, he stands up. "The bell's going to ring soon. I'll see you later, Ichigo-chan."

"Un!" she nods happily. _I don't care what Lettuce thought; I don't see him as a vampire. _

-------

"Minto, Minto, Minto, Minto, Minto!!" Ichigo squealed later right before school let out. Mint was at her locker, picking up books and setting them in her bag, her yes rolling.

"_What_, Ichigo? – And will you please stop bouncing up and down!" she added in a giggle.

"Oops; it's just, I'm so happy," Ichigo said apologetically. "You won't guess what happened, but g'head, try and guess."

"Um… you won the lottery!" the navy-haired girl joked as she slung her over-the-shoulder bag on her back.

"No, silly," Ichigo replied. "One more try," she adds.

"You got asked out by Masaya-kun?" Minto tries again.

"Close; I was asked out, but not by him. Good guess, though; I'm surprised you suggested it before he's done it."

"Me too; he acts like he likes you but never makes any moves. Anyway, who asked you out? I'm at a loss here."

The pinky-haired girl smiles coyly. "Well … he's a certain new kid with green hair…"

"No!" Mint gasps, a grin spreading across her face. "No _way_!!"

"Yes way! – But don't say anything, 'kay? I don't want rumors going around."

"Sure, sure," the cheerleader replies. "Anyway, does Lettuce-chan know?"

Her friend shook her head. "Nope; I haven't gotten a chance to tell her yet. Can you for me? My date's right after school."

"That soon? I was thinking Friday or Saturday; that's when most guys pick dates…"

Ichigo shrugged. "Kisshu seems more like the casual dater to me. And it's not like he has after school clubs or sports to do. He's not Aoyama."

"That's true," Mint giggles. "But I have to be honest, Ichigo: I'm a little jealous."

She frowns. "Huh? Why?"

"Because," Minto says with an undertone of envy, "Even though my family has a lot of money, it's not like money can buy guys. Well, it can, but that's not a good thing. I'm kind of jealous, Ichigo; what if he turns out to be your true love or something? You never know. Plus … he is pretty cute; he has the most unusual eyes, and that's attractive."

Ichigo glares at her friend. "You like him, don't you? Chikushou! That means you'll steal him from me," she pouts.

"No, I won't," Mint laughs. "I'm just saying, is all."

"I know," Ichigo confirms with a nudge of her elbow. "Ja ne," she adds as they part on the sidewalk.

"Ja," Minto responds as she walks away.

Ichigo just smiles to herself as she turns her back to the high school and her friend. _I wonder what my date with him will be like… _


	13. Inside a Haiku

**A/N:** LoL first date as well as ... um ... something that will make you all very happy. C:

_I totally didn't make up that University, BTW. Google it. Wikipedia it. It's real, and it DOES teach ... teachers. LoL. _

_And, um, Kohakuiro Tashibawa is a fake person. I took 'Kohakuiro' from a Naruto OC I made and 'Tashibawa' from my old Tokyo Mew Mew OC. So she's just this random person in this story that is only in this chapter, and she's only there to write Haikus. Which are my Haikus. I made them. No stealing. I will post when separately from here on DeviantART later. _

_And thnak you so much XSain, becuase without your reviews I would have continued to write this story for my own pleasure but stopped posting the chapter on FF.n due to the fact that I posted two chapter with NO REVIEWS for them. Made me terrible sad. But here I am with another chapter just for you, XSain, who keeps reading and reviewing. Yay for you, dear:D_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 13  
_"Inside a Haiku"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

"Hey Koneko-chan," Kisshu said in an American accent, the word 'hey' sounding completely foreign.

"Hei," she replied, trying out the word, but it came out sounding Japanese. She frowned at the way it sounded, and Kish laughed.

"You're so kawaii when you're confused," he grinned. "Now, which coffee place you want to go to?"

The strawberry girl looked thoughtful and unsure for a moment, but then she smiled. "I really don't know, so I'll let you choose."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he told her. "I wanted to go to that new place downtown where people read Haikus out loud; it reminds me of the beat poetry cafés in America."

"Sounds awesome," she smiles. "I bet they have good coffee."

"And tea," he adds. "Now let's go!"

Ichigo wasn't sure, but there was something over-eager about Kisshu, as if he's waited a lifetime to have her with him like this. It was almost creepy the way he looked at her, a look full of _want_. But there was something else in his eyes, something sweet that made her smile. He wasn't bipolar, but it seemed like he had a pretty split personality. Can someone really be two opposites in one?

_Actually,_ Ichigo decided, _they probably could. At first Zakuro-nee seemed a little bitter, and she's still pretty quite in a mysterious way, and yet she's like our big sister. So I suppose you can be two different things at once. _

Little did she know just **how **different.

Either way, it was nice to have his hand in hers as they strolled down the sidewalks of Tokyo to their destination. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, and a chilling breeze shifted about her, threatening to go through her warm clothes and freeze her to the bone. T was strange, too, because Kisshu's hand felt just as cold as the air… but then again, he wasn't wearing gloves, and neither was she. It wasn't quite cold enough yet for that.

When they entered the café, the first thing they felt was a gush of warm, sweet-smelling air filled with the scents of coffee beans and steaming kettles of tea. The atmosphere was homey and inviting with the soft, casual seating near the tiny Haiku-reading stage, and yet formal around the booths off to the sides. Colors swam all around, bold hues of chocolate, cinnamon, and gold. It had a very artsy feel to it, and immediately Ichigo loved the place.

"It's better than I'd hoped," she muttered softly.

"You like it here? It's just like the ones in American, really…" Kisshu responded. "Here, let's order our drinks and take a seat."

"Hai," she smiled. Glancing up at the menu, she saw they not only served hot beverages but cold ones, like ice coffees, smoothies, and frozen yogurt. There were even some pastries, cookies, and tiny sandwiches. She turned to her date and smiled, "I want that strawberries and crème frappucchino; medium-sized."

He laughed. "How come I knew you'd pick that to drink?"

She frowned. "It's not because of my name, okay? I just like strawberries. Especially on pancakes with syrup." She added, licking her lips.

He nodded. With a charming grin he turned to the young woman at the cash register, a soft look in his eyes. "We'll have one medium strawberry crème frappucchino and one medium house blend coffee; black, please."

The woman blinked and blushed slightly. "Coming right up, Sir," she smiled.

Ichigo wrinkled her nose. "You're such a flirt, Kish-kun," she pouted.

"I have my reasons," he said simply. "Just watch, she'll give us our order with a few bucks off."

Sure enough, after a few minutes, she handed them their drinks and said, "Your credit card, please," and after she slid it down the side of the register, a receipt came back for him to sign, and the woman winked at him. Ichigo peered over his shoulder while he scribbled down his signature and noticed that it was much less yen than it should be.

As they walked away to a booth near the back, Ichigo whispered with a giggle, "How'd you do that? Mind control?"

He shook his head and sat down across from her. "Nah, just my caring good looks; gets them every time if they're young enough."

She shook her drink at him. "Bad boy," she scolded.

He shrugged. "Hey, if it works, it works. I'm not complaining if I get a few yen off the total."

Ichigo smiled at him, taking a sip of her drink, the sweet strawberry flavor rolling over her tongue and sliding down her throat. "Mm," she hums. "This is really good." She looked over at Kisshu's and frowned. "You should have tried something new, Kisshu; black coffee is so plain and icky."

Too bad she didn't know that it was the only thing that was strong enough for him to taste. He shrugs again. "I don't like much else; too sweet for me," he lies.

"Uhg, men and their taste for bitter things," she replies with a roll of her chocolate eyes. After another sip of her drink, she suddenly didn't know what to say. She looked down at the golden-brown table, fiddling with her fingers.

But suddenly her head jerked up, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Kisshu turn to look, too; because the lights started to dim as the young girl from the cash register went up onto the tiny stage. She was cleared her throat into a microphone she held, and began: "Konnichiwa, mina! It's Haiku time! We have a few scheduled people to read off theirs, but afterwards anyone who wants to may go. First up we have a freshman student from the Tokyo Gakugei University, a young girl who's studying to be an elementary school teacher. Please welcome the poetry of Tashibawa Kohakuiro!"

A girl with auburn hair and a dazzling white smile and rectangle glasses came up on the tiny stage as the announcer stepped down and handed her the mic. "I have a few for you, since Haikus are only three lines," she says in a pleasant voice, but there was a rough edge to it.

Kisshu smiled at her but turned away, not really caring; he wasn't too much into poetry, except for his lyrics; and those he rarely wrote nowadays. He slammed down a few gulps of coffee, the bitter essence of the coffee beans rotting his tongue. He held back a gag; normally coffee tasted fine, but this one was … strange. Or maybe it was being near _her blood_ … maybe, because he could smell_ her_, the coffee paled in comparison. Maybe.

Speaking of 'her', Kish looked over at his date. He nearly gasped as the dimmed lighting struck the features of her hair, face, and body, a dreamy glow coming off of her skin… or maybe it was just him. Either way, she looked **so** pretty; _good enough to eat, _he laughed, thinking of the pun. He would see every curve of her profile since her attention was on the woman on stage as she read off her poems. He couldn't hear her, though; only the sound of Ichigo's heart a meter away.

Ichigo frowned and slowly turned to look at Kisshu, feeling eyes on her; which there were, for the second she turned she came into contact with his shining gold orbs. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she smiled and released it. "And what are _you_ lookin' at?" she said with a fake gangster voice.

"Something too pretty to be in public," he replied playfully, but it sounded genuine, as if he meant it.

She flushed slightly and took a mouthful of her frappucchino, savoring the sweet taste before swallowing.

Up on stage Kohakuiro-sama said another Haiku, this one about the sakura trees.

"Shall I watch in awe  
As the sweet pink blossoms swirl  
In the sunlit air?

"Or is it foolish  
To admire their cherry taste  
As the petals fall?

"I'd surely freeze time  
To watch them fall forever  
If time allowed it.

"But alas, my love  
I must leave the sakura  
To fall without me."

"What a pretty foursome of haikus," Ichigo sighed. "Don't you think so, Kish-kun?" she asked, turning to him, but when she did she found herself once again looking straight into his eyes. What was wrong with her? Every time she looked at them her heart sped up a tiny beat…

"They were very nice," he murmurs. Discreetly Kisshu clenched his jaw to stop his fangs from extending as he caught of whiff of her skin, and he fought the urge to break it and lap up the blood that sprouted. It was such a curse to be in love with someone you wanted to eat.


	14. Bittersweet StrawBloody Mistakes

**A/N: **FINALLY!

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 14  
_"Bittersweet Straw-Bloody Mistakes"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Ichigo took the last gulp of her drink and stared down at the empty cup. What now? She wasn't sure what to say to Kisshu, and at the moment she was just listening to a little more poetry. Without meaning to she glanced up at her date, whom looked at a loss for words himself. To tell the truth, she had no idea what they had in common or if she really liked him or not. _I guess that's what this date if for; it's to get to know him better. But how am I supposed to do that if we aren't talking much? _

Across the table, Kisshu was having a different battle in his head. He really wanted to kiss her, but at the same time he wanted to bite her. It was difficult to fight the urge of either one, let alone try and think straight enough to come up with something to say to her. But he thought of something. "What kind of music do you like?" he asked.

She looked at him for a moment, but smiled slightly, as if she was relieved he thought of a topic of discussion. "Pop, mostly. But some rock, too. And American music is pretty good; I like their alternative and pop music. What about you?"

He smiled slightly. "Since I was pretty much raised in America – despite being born here in Japan – I like American music, from all kind of eras and genres; but mostly rock, metal, alternative, and techno/dance. But I like JPop and JRock, too; just like you do."

"They call it that over in America? …J meaning Japanese, right?" she asked, a puzzled frown on her brow.

He nodded, finishing off his black coffee. "What about Animes? What shows do you watch?"

"Oh, well… I dunno. I used to watch a lot when I was a kid, but now I mostly turn to the Manga," she tells him.

He nods. "I don't watch much, either. Actually… I never really have. I know tidbits about some shows, but…" he shrugs. "I'm sorry, I keep losing my train of thought." He says with a smile, leaning in slightly. Like the first day they met and she looked into his yes, she again saw that crackling inner fire to his golden irises.

"Kisshu-kun…?" Ichigo said lowly, her voice nearly a whisper. Her face heated up slightly, and she suddenly wanted to smile.

"You keep distracting me, you know that? I can't think straight…" he tells her with that same smile.

Her breath catches in her throat and her heart skips a beat. _What is this… do I… like him? I mean, he's kind of… I don't know, I can hardly think, he's coming so close! _Ichigo's mind was all a flutter, along with her heart.

Kish knew this, too; her sped-up heartbeats rang in his ear, which happens when a vampire gets near their blood preference; they can hear their heart. He was leaning halfway across the table now, and Ichigo looked frozen in place. "Can I kiss you?" he asks in a whisper.

The strawberry girl pauses at that, not expecting it in the least; well, not entirely… she did briefly think it as he was coming closer, but… "Mhm," she nods slightly. _Wait, did I just agree?! I don't know if I meant it…_

But before she could do anything, the forest-green haired boy caught her chin in his hand and she felt herself leaning into him, even though a tiny voice told her not to.

In less than a minute her lips were crushed into a passionate kiss, and suddenly her mind drew a blank. It felt funny, like it was supposed to happen, although part of her wondered if something was amiss. But at the moment Ichigo didn't care, only melted into his palm, which held her chin in place.

To Kisshu, it felt like something he should have done the second he met her, and he smiled slightly into the kiss before gently sloping his tongue across her bottom lip. A noise of lackadaisical protest escaped as her lips parted at this, but Kisshu didn't care; he invited himself into her mouth and caressed her tongue, enjoying how she tasted. To a human it'd taste like her coffee and her lip gloss, but to him it tasted different, like her **essence**; and that tasted pretty good.

At first Ichigo didn't respond; she was never French-kissed before. She wasn't sure if she liked it, but that thought quickly faded as she closed her eyes and returned his playful kiss.

But when she went to enter his lips with her tongue, the tip grazed something long and sharp, and the taste of salty, rusted metal filled her mouth. She immediately pulled away, clamping her hand over her jaw. She grabbed a napkin from it's dispenser on the table and stuffed it in her mouth, and pulled it out to find it wet with spit… and blood.

Ichigo glanced over at Kish, who looked surprised for a moment before licking a trail of red fluid off his chin. He smiled apologetically. "Gomen; did I cut you?"

She gasped into a new napkin as his smile revealed two long canine teeth that weren't so long a few minutes ago.

Kisshu, noticed how she stared, touched one of his fangs with his fingertip. "I should explain, shouldn't I? – But if I do, Pai will kill me…"

Though he didn't show it, Kish was the happiest guy alive right now. A kiss and accidentally getting a taste of her blood? It was all he could ever as for… and more. She tasted like heaven: warm strawberry-rhubarb pie filling, sweet but tart, and it had that B-blood type taste to it. It was so delectable that his fangs had painfully grown faster than they ever have, wanting more. _It was like a carrot dangling in front of the rabbit's nose, to the point where it know it could reach the temptation and yet can't, _Kisshu analogized.

"So Lettuce-chan was right," she mumbled, her eyes wide with shock.

"What was that?" Kish said, his smile fading.

"She was right… you really **are** a… a… k-_kyuuketsuki_." She sputtered, her voice rising slightly.

His pointer finger pressed forcefully against her lips. "Calm down, Ichigo; do you want everyone to hear you?"

"D-d-em… d-d-dem… d-d-demo –" she stuttered, becoming suddenly terribly afraid of the boy in the seat across from her. And yet she was still leaning in to some extent, as if part of her didn't care.

"Shh, shh, shh…" he says soothingly, placing another finger on her lips with the first. "Let's get out of here; we already drank our drinks, right? No need to stay. We can go anywhere you want with not too many people, and we can talk this over, okay?"

The raspberry-haired girl had no idea if he was trying to be manipulative or sincere, but either way she was convinced. She nodded beneath his cool fingers.

"Good," he says softly. He pulls away and stands up, and numbly Ichigo finds herself doing the same and slipping on her jacket. Kisshu grabs her hand and continues to speak as they head out the door. "How about we head for the park? Actually, that might be too cold. Hmm… we could go to –"

"My house!" she offers suddenly, and he turns and looks at her strangely. "My p-parents are still at work."

He grins. "Sounds good. And I'm real sorry, by the way; I didn't mean for you to know."

"But y-you were using me, w-weren't you?" she says boldly. "You only d-dated me to b…b-bite me, right?" She was stuttering terribly, and not because it was cold outside (which it hardly was); she was scared, and a little panicky. _A vampire…_

Kish shook his head and stopped walking. He gently grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, and she felt like she couldn't pull or look away. "Ichigo, I will admit –" he glances around at the other people walking on the sidewalk near them, but there weren't many. Still, though, he lowers his voice and says, "I'll admit that your blood sort of… **calls** to me… but that's not why I asked you out today. It's because I love you, Ichigo."

That did it; that sent her mind spiraling past shock and into a complete sheet of white linen, no feeling or thoughts at all. "Love… me…?"

He nodded and smiled, but he still had his fangs, which twisted the smiled horribly. She shuddered slightly and looked away. Kish's smiled faded and he sighed helplessly, letting go of her shoulders. "Come on, the sooner we can talk more, the better."

She nods blankly. _So he really was in my room that night. He really is a vampire. He really does love me. He… he… _Ichigo shakes her head. _But do **I** love **him**? Do I want to be with a vampire that **wants my blood**? Do I like the idea of him being able to get **into my bedroom** in the middle of the **night**? _After her blank moment, her mind when on a rampage, several thoughts flooding into that blank space all at once. _How come he can be outside in the middle of the day? It's cloudy, but… I wonder if he even sleeps. I saw his canine teeth one side and then they were fangs; can his fangs **retract**? –Are his brothers vampires, too? Well, they must be, but… who **are** his brothers? Are they even related to him, or are they all adopted? What about his parents… does he have any? –Well, obviously, but are they still alive? If they are, they must be vampires, too. Just how old is Kisshu? _Just so many thoughts running across her mind; and mostly they were questions she couldn't answer unless she asked. It was all so confusing that it made her head spin.

She didn't bother asking how he knew the way to her house; after all, he was in her bedroom, right? Made him almost seem like a stalker. Maybe he was; or maybe he was just over-obsessive. But how would she know? She hardly knows the guy. And yet… she has this feeling…

They walked up to her front door, the whole way neither of them saying a thing. She took out her key and unlocked it, stepping inside and kicking off her shows without a word. Kisshu did the same, and she went into her living room and sat on the couch with a dull look in her eyes.

"Want me to explain now?" he asks tenderly, taking a seat next to her on the couch and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Hai," she says, automatically shrugging off his hand; it felt cooler than it should. _Does he even have a pulse? If not, then it makes sense why his body heat is so low… _

Kish blew air out his mouth. "Well, I guess I better start with my age, eh? I'm about 97 years old, been dead for nearly 80. I'm technically dead; feel my neck or wrist, you'll get no pulse. I was turned when I was 17, but I don't know who turned me. But I do know that I was nearly beaten to death by another vampire in America some years ago after I drained some victim dry. So there I was, lying with my face literally in the dirt when Pai (that's my older brother, he's a vampire, too) found me and took me in. I guess you could say I was a bit of a rogue back then, but I'm 'civilized' now. I can control myself pretty well, and I haven't fed on human blood for decades… until that accident in America, which is why we moved back here. I never thought I'd come to Japan, seeing as how I moved to the U.S. when I was 2. But here I am, and here you are, and now you know." His rant sounded stupid and much too long to him, but there was till more to be said. Even though he kept his gold eyes off of her that whole time, he turned and looked at her now, only to see her head cocked downwards, her bangs covering her eyes. A tear slid down her nose and landed in her lap. He sighed sadly out his nose and looked away again. "All vampires have certain characteristics that make us different than humans: we're faster, we each have some special enhanced ability (mine is to teleport), our skin is hard and difficult to break, and our blood is such a stale, dark red that you'd think it's black. Our canine teeth grow into fangs when we're thirsty, and we can see like a cat in the dark. We're meant to be predators and killers, although a lot of us don't want to be. As for me… well, I'm not sure. By now you're probably scared out of your mind, but I can promise you that I'd never kill you, Ichigo; I love you too much to have you disappear. And Pai and Taruto will eventually found out that I told you, and who knows that will hyappen to me when they do, but it's not like they can wipe your memory. You'll be fine, because Pai never hurts humans; in fact, he's a doctor! He _helps_ them. And Taruto just doesn't like fighting much in general; he feels guilty for 'being that stupid brat I was,' as he says. So, Ichigo … don't cry, okay? The kyuuketsuki may be meant to be monsters, but not all of us are."

Kisshu had never talked so much for so long in his life, but Ichigo was worth it. It was an accident that she cut her tongue on his fang today, but because of it they were both paying the price with this moment.

_She'll probably hate me now. But I don't mind; I'll still love her, and some day she won't be so afraid and she'll love me back. I'll make sure of it. _

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**A/N: **Yeah, so, near the end Kish went a tad OOC and becmae Edward, LoL. OOPS. XD

_But I hope you liked this one. Finally some blood-tasting and her knowing about his past! Oh, and, right now she doesn't know that Pai is the guy Lettuce likes. So she doesn't know that Lettuce's crush is a vamp, too. And ichigo has no idea about Pudding and Taruto; speaking of which, there will be more of them in the next chapter!! But for now, I'm going to bed. G'night! ;D_


	15. Complications of Our Relations

**A/N:** Another one that's a little skippy, I'm sorry. I just wanted to get in a few different things before the chapters start to heat up more; that's right, i said "heat up"!! Heh heh heh...

_Please review,  
It's all I ask of you._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 15  
_"Complications of Our Relations"  
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It made her feel sick right down to the pit of her stomach. It twisted and churned but she didn't throw up, although her lower throat felt like it. Her head wasn't in much a better condition, feeling like it was swimming in a tub of gelatin.

Kisshu was a vampire. And a retired rogue if that. His older brother was a vampire, and his younger one, too. None of them drink human blood anymore, he says, but who knows? Maybe he's lying. Maybe it's all one big plan to secretly kill off everyone in Tokyo, sucking out their life juices, as crude of a term as that is.

Ichigo shuddered and wrapped the blankets up higher on her shoulder, tucking them under her chin so she can breathe. She even had the window cracked slightly to take in the fresh night air. She hadn't said a word to anyone after Kisshu left. It was funny, because he left so gently, as if he thought leaving too harshly would break her. Well, it's too late now, she was broken the second she saw his fangs; broken of her false sense of security, broken of her calm demeanor, broken of her growing feelings for him.

At least she thought so, anyway.

Because even though her false sense of security into thinking monsters like the kyuuketsuki didn't exist, and even though she bubbly, calm feelings at the café were all broken, it seemed her feelings hadn't quite fizzled out yet. It was like a deflating balloon… no, that was extinguished much too easy. So is fire. No, it was more like a champagne or carbonated water, where the bubbles stayed in (as light as they may be) long after you thought they were gone.

And like one of those drinks, Kish's words zapped her tongue like the bubbles you first sip from your glass. And in the darkness she frowned to herself, wishing she might've said something to someone after all. And yet who could she talk to? No one believed in vampires, so why would they believe her?

Wait a minute…

"Lettuce-chan," the strawberry girl whispered, the first words she uttered all evening. It was only 8:45 p.m. (she had been wiped out suddenly around 8:00 and went to bed early), so Lettuce should till be awake. With a sudden flicker of hope (although she didn't know why it was 'hope'), she got out of bed and reached for her phone. She paused, not wanting her parents to suddenly pick up the other phone and listen in. So instead she held her cell phone in her hands, and ran down her contact list until Lettuce's home number appeared. She hit dial and waited while it rang. Once, twice, three times…

"Hullo?"

"Lettuce," Ichigo says quietly. "Can I talk to you?"

"Hai," the green-haired girl replies lowly. In her voice Lettuce senses that something was wrong. "Give me a moment," she tells her friend, pardoning herself from her parents' presence.

Ichigo hears the soft thuds of someone walking up wood stairs, and then the sliding of a door. Lettuce's placid voice returns to the receiver:

"What's going on, Ichigo? You s-sound… anxious. Did s-something happen?"

Ichigo took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sitting down on the edge of her bed. But then she remembered Kish sitting there that one night, and immediately stands and paces the room. "Lettuce-chan, you were right. He… when we were out today, Kish-kun…"

Lettuce patiently waited for her friend to gather her words and say them, but she never did. After a little while Lettuce says softly, "Is he a v-vampire?"

Ichigo nods, but then remembered her friend couldn't see her. "Yeah," she says vaguely.

There was a small squeak that escaped Lettuce's lips, and then a slightly panicked breathing pattern coming to her lungs. Ichigo didn't like the sound of that…

"Calm down, Lettuce, please. He's not… I mean, he said that him and his brothers don't drink human blood."

"His brothers are…" she drifts off, then finishes her sentence. "…too?"

"Y-yeah. Do you know them? He said they were Pai and Taruto…"

"Taruto?" she says in a high voice.

"Yeah, why?"

"Th-that, th-that's…"

Ichigo's heart skips a beat and she tenses up, and she ceases her pacing. "What is it, Lettuce-chan?"

"…Pudding's friend. She told me about him. I think she… likes him."

Without meaning to, Ichigo laughs bitterly. "Oh, great, two girls liking vampires of the same family." She shakes her head, feeling the opposite of herself. Is this what a vampire does to you? Is this what a wrong first love can do to you?

Oh, oh no. No, no no. Did she just say 'first love'? _Kuso, _Ichigo curses. _No, I can't love him! Not yet. I certainly like him, but… arhg! _

"Ichigo-san?" Lettuce says quietly.

The girl in question snaps herself out of things and replies, "Hai?"

"What if… what if that guy I met at Café Mew Mew is a kyuuketsuki, too? That… that would ruin everything." She says, but Ichigo can hear her shaking. Her voice wavered and fell at the end; that's just how Lettuce reacts when she shakes or talks about something she fears.

"Oh no, Lettuce-chan, I don't think –"

"But he looked so pale! And it was never sunny when he came those few times. Always raining or cloudy…"

"The days people feel the sleepiest. You said he ordered coffee, right? Black? Guys do that when they're tired."

"But Ichigo-san…"

"Shh," she says. "Gomenasai, I didn't mean to make you fret over this. I just…" she lets out a breath, not realizing she was even holding it before. "I just wanted to talk to someone about this. And I'm so glad you believe me so easily…"

"I was the one trying to convince you, remember?" Lettuce reminds, but her voice sounded forced.

"Heh, yeah…" Ichigo frowns. "But, um… about what you said about Pudding… you don't think…?"

"From what she said, he doesn't seem to like her very much." Lettuce says, now wanting to sound gossip-y. "Avoids her…"

"Maybe because he doesn't want to hurt her, Lettuce. Maybe he likes the smell of her blood and doesn't want to accidentally slip… Kisshu said that to be before he left. He said, _'You don't know how hard it was to be near you before, koneko-chan. You blood seems to beg to me to be drained.'_ He laughed, but it sounded weird. Then he said, _'Vampires have that problem with humans sometimes. But in this case… it lead me to get to know you a little. And I found that I could love you, despite my non-beating heart. I know you learned a lot today, and I hope…'_ But then he left. I don't know what to make of it."

There was a silence at the other end of the line.

"Lettuce-chan?"

A lick of lips, a breath of air, then: "Gomen, but I'll call you back. Okay, Ichigo-san? Okay?"

"Ah, well… sure, Lettuce." She says softly. "Bai-bai."

"Bai," she says weakly, and then the line goes dead.

-------

Pudding sighs to herself happily as she steps out of the shower, her cheeks flushed with the heat of the water. She giggles as she thinks of her new friend, the towel sliding down her skin to dry the clinging droplets. "Taru-Taru!" she says lightly, the nickname dancing on her tongue. It was so nice to have a new friend, and so nice to like someone… like-like, that is. She giggled and sighed again, feeling more giddy than usual.

"Pudding?" says her sweet Nanny's voice. "Pudding, sweetie, are you almost done in there? Your siblings need to shower, too!"

Her voice was a light, joking scold, and the blonde smiled. "Almost, no na da!"

"Okay, dear."

In minutes she was out of the bathroom, steam following her down the hallway after the door opened. With a slight hop to her step she headed for her room, her wet hair bouncing.

**Nanny** noticed. "Pudding, you seem awfully happy tonight; is there something you want to tell me?" she winks.

"Oh, uh, not really!" she says with a blush. With a tiny hand gesture she waves and then closes her bedroom door behind her, her head shaking slightly. _I don't like to keep secrets from Rusuban-san, but now's not the time. I'll tell her about Taru-chan later. _

Pudding's finger traces the buttons on her boom box, and she decides some music would be good right now. In seconds the sounds of Chatmonchy's song 'Daidai' fills the room. The blonde starts to dance, and outside her room in the bathroom Nanny helps wash two of the boys in the tub and smiles to herself. "Oh, that girl…"

-------

The young brunette vampire sighed to himself sadly, losing interest in his video game. With a push of a few buttons he saved the game and shut off the PlayStation 3. "Pai-onii," he says lightly. "Did you bring home more blood?"

The doctor's voice comes form the study and asks, "Why, Taruto? Are you thirsty?"

He didn't want to admit he was because he was thinking about _her_, so he just says a quick, "Yeah," before getting up and heading for the kitchen.

"There's some left, I do believe," Pai informs him.

With a tiny grunt Taruto yanks open the door, the cool air of the refrigerator hitting his legs where his boxers exposed them. But it's not like the cool does very much to him; he's cold enough as it is; his body temperature was only about 28.56 degrees Celsius (83.4 degrees Fahrenheit). That's very low for a human, in the danger levels of having hypothermia. But for vampires, it was a little too warm, in the danger levels of being human.

Taruto has always been the most human of them; refusing to kill, usually drinks donated blood or animal blood, tries to eat human food when he can or when he craves it. Perhaps it was because of his childish body and age of being turned; perhaps it was because of who he was as a human and as he is as a person (although not human) now.

Either way, it chilled him to think that lately something was changing in him. It seemed that every time he was with or thought about Pudding, that blonde girl at his school, he became both more human and more vampiric. It was as if she brought out his non-beating heart… but also his fangs. Taruto seemed to want her friendship she offered, but part of him wanted her blood, too. Just to taste it, not to kill her, of 'course. But still...

He never hungered for human blood before, even as a new vampire (which is rare). Usually just animal blood, because he didn't really want to fight anything or kill anything. He was always an unpleasant child, teasing others and playing tricks. But he never wanted to truly hurt anybody, at least not physically and only his enemies in any other way.

But here he was, a maturing vampire, and suddenly he wanted human blood, and of one person… a girl names Pudding.

But at the same time he didn't want to touch her that way, didn't want to give her any sot of pain, didn't want things to change what they had right now.

_What is this, young love? That's so… stupid…_

But true.

After a few sips of whatever bag of blood he found in the fridge, it turned sour in his mind. He set it down and wiped his mouth.

And then decided something.

"Pai," he says lowly. He heard the man approaching, so there was no need to speak louder than he did. Besides, vampires have excellent hearing. "Pai," he repeats, "Gomen."

The older man raises an eyebrow. "What are you being sorry for?"

"I have to go out, Pai," he says, his head bowed.

A flicker of understanding goes through Pai's grey-purple-blue eyes. "I see. When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure," replies the younger. "But you know what I have to do."

"Hai."

"Gomenasai, Pai," he says again before walking away, and in seconds he was out the door and running, running…

-------

He never left, not really. He wanted to watch her, wanted to see her reaction, wanted to make sure she stayed safe (but from what threat?).

"Ichigo," he whispers delicately, and she seems to hear him. Her eyes wander to the tree outside her window, and the faintest smile of hysteria reaches her lips. He smiles as well, but a different kind. 'I love you' he mouths.

'I don't' she seems to respond without moving her lips; she just has the answer spread across her facial expression.

'You will someday' Kisshu answers with a look of his own.

But she doesn't see him, not really. And even if she did, she wouldn't scream. She wouldn't answer. She'd only stare and begin to cry.

If she saw him, that is.

-------

Lettuce began to weep as she aced her room, her streaming crystal tears her only was of releasing her confused emotions. She didn't know what to think anymore, much less what to **feel**. So she just cried.

"Lettuce, honey? Are you okay in there?" her mother's voice mutters through the door.

She can't answer, so the door slides open.

"Oh, dear…" her mother says, not meaning her but a general 'oh my' or 'oh no'. She scoops up her eldest daughter into a cradling hug, and seats herself on the bed. "What's the matter? Tell me."

Lettuce removes her glasses and looks up into her mother's, wiping away a tear before looking down again. "I'm not sure I kn-know how to, M-mom." _Truth is, I don't think you'll believe me. Maybe I should make something up?_

"Tell me any way that you can," she replies.

With a deep, quavering breath, Lettuce opens her mouth to say: "I think Ichigo's new… boyfriend… is bad for her. She's not sure because she likes him…" she says, half-lying; she suddenly wished she could tell lies better, or more often. She was normally so against lies… "And his younger brother is Pudding-san's new friend, and so I fear he might be bad, too. What can I do, Mother?"

Her mother takes in this small bit of information. "Well, there's not always something to do, dear. And as for your crying, please stop. It's not your concern, really. If things turn for the worse, they'll find a way out of it. If not, they have you and Minto-chan and Zakuro-chan to help, right? Friends are always there for one another."

Silently she nods and sniffs up the last of her tears. She stayed in her mother's arms for a long while, thinking things over as best as she could. How did everything get so complicated?


	16. There's Going To Be An Accident

**A/N:** It's all leading up to this big moment I have planned that will change a lot of things. On another note, this chapter contains a lot of fluff. Seriously. The first is TarutoXPudding and the second is KisshuXIchigo (LoL best part fo this whole chapter). And then we get to really know exactly how Taruto's visions work, even though I've done that one small one right before Pudding fell on him. Anyway, please enjoy and review. The next few chapters will be intense! XD

_P.S. the chapter title was taken from the lyrics of "Infa-red" by Placebo, as will another chapter later on. _

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 16  
_"There's Going To Be An Accident"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Taruto knew where she lived; after all, it wasn't too long ago when they were walking home together… And as for which house, well, he could smell his way to her then.

_This is foolish; this is something that Kisshu would – and has – done. Why am I doing this? What do I want to see her? _Tart thought to himself, a frown etching itself into his forehead. _Why do I feel that she's special to me? Is it only her blood?_

He wasn't sure, but he knew he had to keep running, and that he would soon be there.

From her bedroom window, Pudding saw a flash of something running down the street towards her house. And then it was right in front of her, the street lamps illuminating the figure of a young boy. Wait, didn't she know him…?

The figure stopped, and shook it's head. But the hair was familiar, and Pudding's face broke out into a smile as a squeal escaped her lips. It was Taruto!

She quickly opened her window and leaner her head out. "Taru-Taru, what are you doing out there at night?"

He seemed to curse under his breath, as if he hadn't meant to be seen, as if he had changed his mind about being here. He came closer to her window in a slow walk and forced a smile. "I just wanted to say hi to you. I don't know your phone number, so it thought I'd, you know, drop by."

He suddenly hated himself, wishing he never stepped foot out his front door. He felt so unlike himself; is this what love did to you? No, wait, it can't be _love_! That'd be absurd. And yet that word kept coming to Tart's mind…

"Well what are you doing outside, no na da? Get your butt up here, silly!" she laughs, and he finds himself laughing, too. Pudding just had that effect on people.

"Then open the door for me," he says. "It's not like I can fly up to windows!"

She laughs again and nods. "Pudding will be right down to open the door for you! Hold on!"

His smile turns crooked and then fades as she goes away from the windowsill, and for a moment Taruto is left to himself. And he thinks quickly, _I still have time to turn back… But no, she'd hate me for that, wouldn't she? _

Hating him, he realizes, is the last thing he wants Pudding to do.

"Come inside, Taru-chan!" she says brightly as the front door opens.

He takes a breath and a few steps, smiling. "I hope your parents don't mind…"

Pudding's face seems to fall, and Taruto wishes he could catch it. "It's only Rusuban-san and my siblings here. Daddy's away and Mommy's…" she drifts off.

"I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean –"

A weak smile, softening brown eyes, and a touch to his shoulder. "It's okay." There's a pause and she walks up the stairs, and a little hesitantly Tart follows.

As soon as he sees her room he nearly falls backwards at all the color. Soft yellow walls all the way around except for the one her bed leaned against, in where a lovely floor-to-ceiling painting filled the wall, and everything looked very Chinese. In fact, her whole home seemed Chinese. "Pudding-san, I thought you were Japanese." How blunt.

She looks at him, a lollipop stick peaking between her lips. She offers him one but he declines, and she leans back into a chair by her desk. "No, I'm not Japanese; my last name is Fong," she smiles. "Guess you never noticed, na da!"

"Well, no, I was never told your last name… I don't have you in any of my classes," he says, tumbling the words around.

"Oh, that's right!" the golden blonde says, pulling the lollipop out to speak. It looked like butterscotch flavor. She pouts. "I wish you were in my classes, Taru-Taru. It'd be more fun with you."

A slight blush reaches his ears and he fake-coughs to avoid her eyes. "Oh, come no, I'm not that fun or anything."

"You are, too!" she says cheerfully, a rosy tint in her cheeks. "I always have fun being with you, no matter where or when."

Her honesty makes more of a blush burn his ears, but this time it reaches his face. He briefly shakes is head. Without meaning to, he murmurs, "But you shouldn't." _Being with one of the kyuuketsuki is never a good thing. _

"Hn? What'd you say?"

He looks up at her and puts on a tiny smile. "Nothing."

She smiles, the white stick between her teeth. She glances over at her clock and her eyes grow wide. "Oh no! It's getting late. When does your brother want you home by, no na da?"

"He doesn't care."

She looks worried for him suddenly. "Doesn't… care? That's not fair! Brothers should always care about –"

He cuts her off. "It's not like that, Pai cares a lot! More than you know…" _He saved my life, gave me a chance to live on… and that allowed me to meet you. _

She gave him this airy look just then. "You really respect your brother, don't you?"

"Huh?" he replies, not expecting that. "Well, I guess you could say that…" _To be honest, I never thought about how I felt towards Pai, or Kisshu for that matter. I respect Pai, sure, and he's almost like a father to me sometimes. As for Kisshu… well, he's the brother I never had. _

Pudding's smile becomes soft and her eyes seem to melt around him, and he finds himself coming closer to her to look into them. Her smile widens and without him seeing it coming, she pops her sucker in his mouth. "You better go now before Rusuban-san gets angry at Pudding!"

He smiles, the scent and taste of her all over him now, even in his mouth where she placed the lollipop. "Hai," is all he can say.

-------

Kisshu didn't realize how long he'd been watching Ichigo's delicate moves until it was a couple hours after she'd been sleeping. He wondered then if he should go into her room… But was a date and a taste of blood too much for one day? You would think so if you were anyone else, but this was Kisshu we were talking about; nothing was overdone in his eyes.

So gingerly he stood and cocked his head, staring into the darkness that was her bedroom. "Now or never, I suppose," he says with a shrug.

In seconds he was teleported into her room, right at the foot of her bed. A dog woke at the sound of his feet touching carpet, and it hopped of the bed, growling lowly in it's throat.

"I know you," he whispers. "I saw you earlier today, remember? What was your name again…? Masha?"

The dog takes a sniff of his hand, which he held out to it; no need to be afraid of dog bites, let alone ones from a dog so small. It licks him after a second, the tail wagging back and forth.

"Good boy," he tells it.

A teeny muffled sound comes from the bed, and a body moves beneath the sheets.

"Having a dream, koneko?" Kish smiles.

"Hai," she breathes airily, and for a moment Kisshu frowns and freezes. If he his heart could, it would flutter for a moment in his chest.

Then he understood that she was a sleep-talker. _I could use this to my advantage…_

Being careful not to wake her, he teleports himself to behind her on the bed, her body lying on it's side. Ever so gently he tucks a few strands of her bangs behind her ear so that he can see her face. It was calm and childish in her sleep, and her eyelashes looked longer than he's ever seen them. Or maybe they were always that long, and he had never noticed…

"Ichigo-chan," he says in her ear, and her involuntarily her shoulder cringes against her ear because it tickled. He smiles at this. "Do you like me?" he asks.

She shifts in her sleep, turning over onto her stomach, her face away from him. Her hair was down, the raspberry locks all over the pillow and her shoulders like water.

"Answer me, please," Kish says, touching her arm.

"I do…" she says in the same airy voice, the words harder to make out than before because of the pillow.

"Really?"

"Hn…"

It was thrilling to have her subconscious answer him; the subconscious always tells the truth, after all. "Why?"

"Because…"

"Tell me more."

"Eyes…"

"You like my eyes."

"Gold is pretty…"

He shakes his head. Sleeping Ichigo is a simpleton. Unless she is normally? No, no, she's smarter than that… "What else, koneko-chan?"

"Don't… call me that."

He bites back a laugh. "Why not?"

"Baka…"

He resists the urge to lean down and wrap himself up in the scent of her hair. Instead he caresses the cheek he can see, stroking it lightly. She turns towards him more, on her side again.

"Kish-kun…"

"…So you like me, Ichigo? Truly?"

A hand reaches up into the air, grasping nothing. He leans into it and allows her fingertips to graze the skin of his jaw. In her sleep a faint smile reaches her lips. "Getsuei," she murmurs.

_'Moonlight' or 'moon', _he translates in his mind. _I guess I get why: cold and pale, like the moon. _He touches nearly the same place on her, feeling her heartbeat speed up slightly. "Tenpi," he replies. _'Sunlight' or 'sun'._

Even in her sleep she giggles, and he's tempted to do the same, but remembers himself: he can't wake her.

"What am I to you, Ichigo? "

She doesn't answer, only changes position in her sleep to face him on her side, her hand lingering on his collar bone as if stuck there.

"Tell me what I mean to you," he says again softly, wanting an answer so badly.

But she doesn't answer once again, and instead drops her hand and cuddles up against his chest.

Kisshu blushes and puts his arm around her, suddenly grateful for this time with her, even if she's asleep.

But electric waves pass from her skin to his flesh, and his fangs tingle as if warning him about his thirst for her blood. He could feel it, too, rushing through her veins… her heart beating in front of his chest... After finding out how wonderful her blood really is today, it was deliciously tempting.

_No, not now! _He told himself. With his eyes closed he took in a deep breath with his mouth, exhaling with his nose. Ichigo felt it breeze passed her face. She made a noise, and then her eyes peaked open. "Kisshu?"

He froze in place for a second time that night, although this time longer than the last. _Shit!_ _Is she awake?_

She lifted her head, her hot breath on his face. _Please tell me she's sleep walking or something; please don't let her be awake… _"Are you a dream?" she mutters.

Her voice sounds the same as it did when she was sleep talking, which came as a relief. He sighed and smiled, lightly pushing her back onto her pillow. "Yes, I am."

"Too bad," she said with a yawn, her eyes closing again. "Even though I know you're a vampire, I still can't be away from you."

If his heart could beat, it would stop in it's tracks before restarting again. Kish snapped himself out of shock and a smirk came to his lips. "Don't worry; I'm never away from you to begin with; not really."

"Good…"

And then she fell back into her peaceful slumber.

-------

The next morning was kind to Lettuce; it was as if the gods were trying to relax her panicky nerves. Tuesday hung bright in the air with the sun trying to peek out from between the grey clouds, a light fog surfing across the air in the early hours of the morning. It was serene, and Lettuce took it all in through her eyes, ears, and lungs. The cool mist touched her face and woke her up, and she sighed.

Good omens seemed to welcome her today.

-------

Taruto went down the halls in a flash, not able to believe he was late for class. Of all people he shouldn't be, Kisshu should! –He was the one who never came home until early morning right before school!

Amidst his running, suddenly his sight blurred and he slowed down. A twinge crawled across his brain, and he fell to his knees.

A vision of the future was coming, and a big one if that.

Tart braced himself…

**_A girl lying in the grass. A boy standing over her. A park bench was behind them, along with some more grass and some trees. The boy was shaking, his hair in his eyes. Green hair… and the girl was bleeding from the neck, her face growing pale. Her hair covered her closed eyes, a few tears lingering on the lashes. Everything was so clear in the center and so fuzzy on the edges… _**

He called out lowly, and the bell rang, drowning out his voice. He was alone in the hall.

**_… The boy whipped out his cell phone, dialing three numbers. The speaker phone was accidentally on, so you could hear thing ringing. His voice shook as he talked to someone. A wailing ambulance siren, the screeching of tires. Slowly people began to run, as if time was set to slow motion. And then everything faded away into a black oblivion.…_**

Gasping for breath, Taruto's eyes opened and he found himself on his hands and knees. The tiled floor was dirty and cold underneath him. Slowly he stood; sweat clinging to his hair, face, and neck. He wiped some of it away, still panting. If he wasn't one of the undead, his heart would be pounding in his chest. Slower than a vampire should ever move, the brunette collected his books and headed for the bathroom.

That had been the longest and most painful vision he's ever had.

And although he didn't know when it would happen, he did know this: the girl had been Ichigo, Pudding's 'onee-chan' and the boy his own brother.

-------

Lettuce could sense it. She could sense the wave foreboding pass the hallways of her school and fall heavily on her chest.

So much for good omens.

-------

It made Pudding bubbly all day, her every word and action just brimming with happiness. Taruto had come to see her last night! How romantic and terribly sweet.

But at the mention of his name in her mind, some alarm went off. She suddenly needed to go find him.

So at lunch period she set out to find him, the sun an ever constant glow in the grayed sky. "Taru-chan! Ne, Taru-chan, where are you?"

"Looking for him again, are you?" a girl asked her with a smile.

"Un!" the blonde nods. "Have you seen him?"

The girl leans down, and Pudding recognizes her as someone from her class. "Are you two dating?"

Redness covers Pudding's face. She looks down and smiles. "No, but maybe someday." He looks back up at the girl. "Anyway, _have_ you seen him at all?"

The girl frowns. "I didn't, but my friend Meiko is in his class and said he didn't come in first period. She said he was in the nurse's office for a while. Why don't you check there?"

A concerned look spreads across the blonde's face at this new information, and her stomach seemed to fall. "What happened to him, no na da?!" she whined.

Her classmate got a queer look on her face before saying gently, "Oh, I'm sorry, please don't cry. I don't know what happened, but someone told me his head was bothering him. Don't worry too much and just go and see him," she says.

"Okay," Pudding nods.

Pretty soon she was marching down the halls, headed for the infirmary. She knocks on the door below the sign, and a young woman's voice calls out: "Enter, dear."

A young woman in her middle 30's is seen leaning over a young girl with a green-tinted face. "Anou… has Taruto-chan been in here lately?"

The lady turns to Pudding. "Oh, yes, he just left about a half hour ago. Poor thing had a sudden migraine attack."

"Do you know where Pudding can find him?" she asks lowly.

"Why don't you go to his class? I think it's –"

"I know which one," the blonde says. "Arigato."

The woman nods vaguely, her long dark hair being tucked behind her ear before she turns back to the girl, taking a thermometer out of her mouth. "Oh my, I'm afraid you're going home, honey," she tells the girl.

Pudding closes the door behind her and continues her search for her new friend. _I wonder what came over him, _she thinks with a worried frown. _I hope he's alright now!_


	17. Keep Close To Me

**A/N:** This is getting fun now, LoL...

_I despirately want you to review, BTW!! I'll love you all forever and ever but not in the lesbian way since I'm a girl and I know mostly girls (if not all) read this... -frowns- heh heh hurried excuse. But you get what I mean... I mean, after all, I'm just a starving fanfic-authoress..._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 17  
_"Keep Close To Me"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

In a manner of speaking, Taruto was fine, but he was more worried about his brother. His visions don't always come true, because the slightest change in time can alter the outcome, but mostly likely events fall into place to make them come true.

But this was one vision he didn't want to happen; that event won't bode well for Kisshu or his new girlfriend, if that's what you could call her.

Speaking of which, Pudding suddenly came to mind, but stubbornly he pushed her away. He didn't want to think of his own feelings towards anyone but Kish at the moment; it was all he could do to found out when the vision is supposed to happen, and if maybe he could prevent it.

-------

Ichigo took to heart what Kish had said, and for the longest (or what felt like a long) time she was terrified out of her wits. And yet here she was now at the lunch table, her heel tapping impatiently on the ground, and she frowned while she chewed. Minto didn't seem to notice, and was instead bugging her about spilling what happened on her date yesterday.

"Was he kind to you? Where did you end up going? And oh, oh! Tell if you guys kissed!!"

Lettuce didn't utter a word, only ate in a reserved silence. Ichigo pouted to Mint, telling her she didn't want to say anything in public. Minto smirked and seemed to buy it.

"Fine, whatever you say," she says plainly. She seemed a little mad or disappointed, though…

Ichigo sighed to herself. She was nearing the stage of confused depression, although she hardly showed it. It felt like her heart was tearing two ways, and so was her brain; and all because of that damn green-haired boy! Why couldn't things be simpler?

It all just made her dizzy.

And there was her dream last night where she was talking to Kish in what felt like through water or clouds, where she could see him but felt him there. And he kept asking her questions in playful whispers, and in the dream she felt all glowy and warm. And then she turned around and he was there, a little surprised but smiling. It was weird, because one question he asked her a few times in the dream kept coming to mind, and she asked it to herself: **_What am I to you, Ichigo?_**_ What does he mean to me? Chikushou, that's a real good question to ask; because how am I supposed to answer? Now that I know… certain things about him _(She didn't really want to say, "that he's a blood sucker")_… what should I do? What can I say to answer that question he asked me in my dream? _

Ichigo can't really handle too many thoughts at once, being the girl she is. So at this point, her head was reeling and she lost her appetite. So without thinking much about it, she stood and brought her bento box with her, dumping out it's remains in the garbage before heading to the bathroom. Vaguely she heard Aoyama say hello to her on her way out of the lunch room, but she ignored him.

**_Tell me what I mean to you… _**

_"Even though I know you're a vampire, I still can't be away from you." Why did I say that? –Your dreams are just your subconscious putting random things together, right? So… ah! I just can't… Demo… _She shook her head at the mirror of the bathroom, and splashed some water in her face, the cool rush helping clear her mind and feeling so good to her skin. She dried it with a paper towel and blinked her brown eyes at her reflection. _Kisshu… _At the sound of his name in her head and the picture of his face – especially those eyes – her heart jumped and she felt the twitch of a smile wanting to come to her lips. She didn't smile, though, because she realized what it would mean if she did: it would mean that she was in love with the 17-year-old (in appearance, of course…) kyuuketsuki.

_What you mean to me? I don't think I understand what you mean; are you asking your relationship with me, how I feel about you, what you look like and sound like? Are you asking what your words mean to me, or your touch or your kiss? What are you asking?! _

"Ichigo?" comes a voice as someone walks into the girls' bathroom. It was her friend Moe.

Ichigo puts on a smiling face. "Hei Moe."

"'Hey'? You sound like that boy Kisshu. Speaking of which… I heard from Mint that he's your new boyfriend!"

"N-nani?! No, no… I mean, we went out yesterday, but… that is to say…" Ichigo stuttered, a blush covering her face.

"Heehee! You're blushing, Ichigo!" Moe cooed, slipping behind a bathroom stall door.

"I'm going to go back to lunch…"

"More like to class, Ichi-chan; the bell is about to ring!"

"Oh… really?"

And as if on cue, the bell rings.

-------

Kisshu was in a good mood. It seemed things were – for once – going his way. Last night, after an hour or so after Ichigo had went back into a non-talking sleep, he had left her side and teleported to his own bed, smiling to himself. A few hours later he was up and ready for school, walking into the building with high spirits; he wasn't sure if she loved him yet, but it was seemingly heading on that track, which felt like an impossibility and a miracle. Somehow, it was like in another life he had gone mad with trying to make someone like her love him, and it ended up never happening; so now when it's like things are getting close, it makes him smile and glow with an unearthly sense of pride and joy.

Vampire or not, anyone can feel this good and doubt it, though. Just because he was a different being didn't mean it saved him from sensing things are too good to be true. Because as god as his mood was, something felt… **off**. And it wasn't until after school that day that he found out what felt so wrong.

Taruto burst into the front door, screaming Kish's name. Since he was in high school, he went to school earlier and came home earlier than the middle and elementary school students; so when he heard Taruto come bursting in, he wasn't surprised.

"Heya Tart-nii; what's up?" he asks with a playful suspicion in his voice.

"Kisshu!" he says in an accusing tone, "Have you done anything to Momomiya Ichigo?!"

The gold-eyed teen in question cocks his head and frowns. He changes from Japanese to English. "Huh? What're you talking about? I haven't done a thing!"

"Then explain my vision to me," he replies in an almost panicky voice, changing to English as well.

"What vision? When did you have one?"

"Today at school, in the morning; gave me one hell of a headache…"

"What happened in it?"

This is when Taruto sends him a vicious look, which seemed unfitting for his childish face. "I'm not sure, but… You two were in a park by a bench, and she was on the ground with you over her and… I think … I think you_ bit_ her. And then you had to call an ambulance…"

For a moment you could see a hundred emotions pass over Kish's face, and his eyes flashed with each one. Worry, fear, shock, hurt, disbelief, anger, lust, and the like, all out of order and only coming and going for milliseconds. "No, no…" he says slowly, "I would never… I mean, on our date, accidentally my fang cut her tongue, but –"

"What?!" Taruto panics. "Kish! You didn't!!"

"No, of 'course not," he says suddenly gently. "We were just kissing and it happened by mistake. All I got was the smallest taste, but I didn't suck or anything. I can control myself when I need to…"

"But Kisshu," Taruto says lowly, "What if things go bad? In my vision the blood was still dripping from her neck, like you just bit her, and hard. If it happens and worse comes to worse with she dying, then…"

The most contorted sadness filled every inch of Kisshu's face then, and he looked as if he were about to cry. "That's not going to happen." It was said as if it were a statement of fact.

"Just, please, onii-san…" he replies, returning to Japanese like a switch. "Be careful with her."

Kish smiles vaguely. "That shouldn't be a problem; I love her, after all."

"Her or her blood?" Tart mumbles while turning away. The green-haired boy pretends not to hear. "I'm going to go do my homework," the brunette says louder.

And then, around 5:00, Pai came home.

"I hate how I seem to do things without thinking," mutters the doctor to his younger brother.

"Why, what did you do now?" Kisshu asks lightly, a smirk forming on his face.

"It's not funny," the purple-haired man snaps. He combs his pale hand through his bangs and lets them fall gently back onto his forehead. "I just…" he shakes his head.

Kish frowns; he's never seen Pai act this way before. In fact, Pai normally hardly has any emotion at all; he only fakes it at work, but really he was like those old vampires that loose feeling over the years, dropping their human ties after about a hundred years after their 'death'. And yet here he was, acting almost human, almost normal. And he seemed downright flustered. "What's up with you, Pai?"

"I didn't tell you so earlier, but I found a girl of my blood preference as well."

The frown he wore a moment ago disappears into a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. "Oh really? Is she hot?"

Pai sends him a look, which wipes the teen's smile away immediately. "I'm not wanting to get to know her or fall in love with her like you and your idiot younger brother. And yet…"

"You are anyway?"

Pai sighed. "I don't know; I haven't felt near this way or felt hardly at all in nearly 100 years. But maybe it's being in my homeland or something else that brings out the dormant human part of me out."

Kisshu nods. "I guess that makes sense. But just what did you do that makes you hate yourself?"

"Without thinking I purposely went to that café and saw her again." The doctor shrugs. "Actually, I should say, I _smelled_ her again."

"Which café?" the teen asks suddenly; because doesn't Ichigo and her friends work at a café?

"Something ridiculously feminine but popular with their cakes and coffee; I wouldn't know but the cakes, but their coffee is good as I can tell with my strange taste buds."

"I meant the name, Pai, not an excuse as to why you were in there." He says impatiently.

"Café Mew Mew," he answers.

Kisshu paused. _That's were Ichigo works. And some of her friends, two of them in our grade. Which means… _All of a sudden he bursts out laughing.

Pai scowls. "What's so funny now?"

"I think, Pai, we like all the birds of the same flock."

The doctor doesn't understand. "Eh?"

"My girl Ichigo works there, and as far as I can tell from what I've seen, Taruto's preference works there, too. And now you, Pai?"

Pai ignores the last statement and focuses on something else he said. "How do you know about Taruto's preference?"

Kisshu looks guiltily at him. "I was curious about who he would like, being the stubborn brat he was and sometimes is. So I did a little… research."

"You mean you spied on him."

He puts on a complacent smile. "In a matter of speaking, yes."

"So what are you saying, Kisshu?"

"What we're in deep shit if all three of those girls are friends with vampire boyfriends."

He sits back and takes in what his younger brother said, thinking things over. "Or maybe it could be a good thing," he says, acting like the optimist he isn't. "Because then they might only share it with each other and tell no one else."

"Hmm, maybe …_hopefully_."

"But you're forgetting, Kisshu; I'm not going to love this girl. Or date her. Besides, she's a bit too young; only about 17."

"6 years physically, Pai; your body is only 23. Not too shabby…"

"But technically I'm about 130 years old, give or take. I lost count. So mentally I'm far much older than her."

"Pai, you've always been mentally older than the average 23-year-old, even as a human; I wouldn't know for sure since I wasn't born yet, but I can guess; you just seem that way."

Pai ignored that. "Anyway, things won't progress as far, I just know it. It's not like Taruto is the type to get too involved and I even more so. It's just you that I worry about, really." He says with a wave of a hand.

Kisshu takes offense to that. "Are you saying I have no self control? You think I can't love her without digging my fangs into her skin?"

The faintest smile comes to his lips. "In a matter of speaking, yes," he replies, stealing Kish's line that was used earlier.

After a moment, the teen lets out a chuckle. "I was never sure if I liked you very much, Pai; you were much too emotionless and quiet for my taste. But now I think I could learn to be your friend."

"I'd hope so; after all, we're brothers living under the same roof."

"…And have been for Kami knows how many years."

They smiled at one another then, the first real smile they've ever shared.

Taruto walks in on this and frowns. "What the frick did I miss?!"


	18. Round in Circles

**A/N:** finally, an update! you guys must hate me. XD

_Meh, inbetween chapter. the next chapter is exciting, though... here's a hint: the chapter title is lyrics from a Jimmy Eat World song... **"A Kiss With Open Eyes and She's Not Breathing Back" **-smiles-  
That's the song 'Pain', by-the-way._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 18  
_"Round in Circles"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

"Another day of school come and gone," Ichigo says discontentedly at the café while sweeping up at the end of the day. "And another day of work."

"What's your problem, Ichigo? You've been acting weird ever since your date with Kisshu-kun." Mint notes while she sips some tea and watches her friend work. "Speaking of which… you haven't told me the juicy details yet. Unless things didn't go well?"

"No, they went well… um, kinda… things sort of got out of hand…"

"Oh my Kami, don't tell me you guys –!"

Her eyes grow wide and Minto starts to giggle. With a frown she set down her broom and smacked Mint's arm. "It wasn't like that, pervert! I just mean it was nice at first but something happened and well… I'm not sure, now."

"Eh? How can you not be sure? You either had a good date for a bad one, it's that simple."

"Well, then, I guess it was… a good date." And she realized this was true.

"Really? Then why won't you tell me – or any of us! – what happened?!"

Across the room, Pudding's ears perked up. In seconds she was between the two girls, eyeing them suspiciously. "Are one of you keeping secrets from Pudding?" the blonde asks.

"She is," Mint smirks while pointing an accusing finger.

Ichigo blinks and pushes her finger away. Turning to Pudding she says, "It's nothing, Pudding-chan, really."

"I don't believe that, na da! Onee-chan should tell Pudding what happened! Please oh please oh pleeeease?" she begs, her eyes watery.

The strawberry girl looks to Minto for assistance, but she just nods, as if to say: 'I want to know too, so you better spill the beans like Pudding suggests'.

In the background Lettuce sighs and shakes her head, Zakuro coming up behind her. "What's all this about?" she asks the spectacled girl.

"Oh, um, Ichigo-san is being put on the spot about her date… that's all."

The older girl smiles, her glossy lips closed. "You look like you know something about it, Lettuce."

"Well, anou… n-not really…" she sputters, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, but then decides to take them off and clean them with the hem of her apron.

"I can tell when you lie, you know; you always adjust and fiddle with your glasses like that."

She sighs and glances up at the model, her lower lip in a slight pout. "It's not too bad, honest; but I think Ichigo should tell you all for herself," _Since you won't believe me if I told you that her date was with a vampire; you might not even believe her, actually… _

Zakuro shrugged and turned to look back at the scene that was unfolding, the two against one and counting, since in walks Ryou.

"What the hell is going on?" he asks, his hands in his pockets. The two girls point to Ichigo, who begins waving her hands all around, trying to signal them to not tell him…

He turns his blue eyes to Minto, who smirks and says, "Ichigo has a boyfriend, but she won't spill the juicy details."

"And she's keeping secrets from Pudding!" the blonde adds.

Mint looks over at the younger girl. _Same thing, _she says to her in her mind.

"Well then," Ryou Shirogane says casually, "How 'bout we hold her hostage? She can't leave until she talks, and the first one to make her talk gets a pay raise."

"You're kidding, right?"

The blonde-haired man laughs. "Of 'course; if I hold her hostage I could get sent to jail for harassment or something. But seriously, if you want to get her to tell you anything just ease off her instead of cornering her and coax her into it. By the way, you're all done for today. Go home and bug her there; Keiichiro-senpai and I have to close up."

"Arigato, Senpai!" Ichigo says immediately; and she was changed and ready to go faster than you could say the alliteration 'flee from friends'.

-------

Taruto seemed… off, Pai noticed. So as delicately as he was able, he said, "Something I should know about?"

"I had a vision, onii-sama. And it wasn't good. I told Kish, but I'm not so sure telling you will solve anything."

"What do you mean?" he replies, sitting down next to the boy, who was dully playing a video game Pai knew he's beaten thrice before.

But the boy just shakes his head. "We'll just have to wait and see if it comes true, Pai… and I really hope it doesn't."

-------

That night Ichigo lay in bed, her boom box thrumming JPop music from across her bedroom. In the end, her friends forced out of her this much information: they went to a poetry café, she ordered something strawberry and him some black coffee, they kissed, sharing a little tongue, but she was too embarrassed and ran away. This would be the "edited" version of the date story, having taken out all the vampire-related factors. And since she took that out, Mint was questioning why they weren't together all that day. Lettuce spoke up then with a forced smile, saying, 'It's m-more complicated than that, Minto-san; just leave her b-be about it, okay?'

But her dad had heard her mention a date and freaked out, not liking the idea of his dear, sweet daughter being involved with some loathsome boy; she was using his words, of 'course. It was funny how protective he was; not to her, because she didn't want him to do anything stupid, but it was funny to her friends. But, eventually, she lied to him and sad it was nothing, a one-time thing (while winking to her friends playfully, trying to act as if Kisshu was any other human boy). He calmed down a bit at that, although was frowning the rest of the night.

…And that had been that.

For now, that is.

But Ichigo lay there now, hugging her pillow to her chest, wondering what to do. Should she talk to him about it? Give him a chance, despite his… _nature_… and see how it plays out? Or just tell him that it can't work, or that she can't do it? Either way she'd have to talk to him, she realizes, and with that thought she sighs.

_To be honest,_ she thinks to herself, _I want to give him a chance._

But then she giggled and whispered: "I'd like to see what my dad would do to him if **that** happened!"

-------

Kish has one thing on his mind, and it's to get his love to give him another chance. She has to love him, she just has to! He won't accept no for an answer, really; even if it comes down to begging, bribing, and worse.

Vampire or not, he knew what love felt like, and this was it. He was willing to do whatever it took to get into her heart, although he wouldn't mind tasting it, too (in a manner of speaking). But he shook those blood-sucking thoughts away, trying not to feel thirsty; especially since he was heading for her house, which seems to have become a habit of his. _And a bad one at that,_ he adds in his mind. _Because it can get dangerous. But I have to see her, smell her, and be with her warm body…_

His thoughts drifted off as if they were words fading in an echoing cavern, because just then his feet touched her carpeted floor with a soft _thut_. He held his breath a long moment, which didn't hurt since he was technically dead. It was as if he didn't want to wake her; and even if she was already awake, he didn't want her to know that he was there. So cautiously he came forward, looming closer to her bed.

"Mm-mum-erf," she yawns and murmurs in her sleep, turning over.

Kish holds back at laugh. _She's just so cute,_ he thinks. Soon he's on the edge of her bed, his enhanced vision allowing him to see her pretty well in the dark. Slowly, if not hesitantly, he reaches over and pulls back some of her hair from her face. Her eyes scrunch up for a moment and her nostrils flare, as if she can smell him. She tilts her head and her eyelids flutter. _Kuso, I think I woke her up; she must've not been very deeply asleep… _

"Again?" she says lightly, and Kisshu wondered if she was truly awake or talking in her sleep again.

"What, you don't like my company?" he ventures. "Or is it just creepy?"

"No, no…" she replies, rolling onto her stomach. "It's just… I thought…"

_She must actually be awake this time. _"What did you think?"

"I thought I shouldn't care, but I do. I care if I can't see you, even though I know being with you is dangerous for me."

"It's even more dangerous if_ I_ can't see _you_," he tells her, coming closer.

"Why is that?" she asks, her voice still light and tired-sounding.

"Didn't I already say?" he grins. "It's because I love you, Ichigo; and nothing is ever going to change that."

She smiles vaguely, and even in the dark Kisshu can see her blush.

"But Ichigo… you never told me: what do I mean to you? Do you love me, too?"

Her smile fades and she turns away from him. "I don't know," she lies. But she knows.

And so does he. "You're lying. Tell me, koneko-chan… tell me," he whispers, right in her ear.

She blushes and closes her eyes. "But if I fall in love with you…."

"Nothing will happen," he concludes. "I'll protect you, if you love me."

"But I do," she says so low she didn't even hear herself, only felt her lips move.

But with his hearing and being right next to her, he heard. "For real?"

"Hai," she says, slightly louder. "I… I want to be with Kisshu-kun."

Never before had he felt such a powerful wave of satisfaction, completion, joy and the like. He felt it bubbling up inside him, and he smiled the widest you've ever seen, his fangs becoming noticeably more pointed. Instinctively, he leaned down and kissed her neck softly, his cool lips just barely grazing her skin.

A shiver went down her spine and her heart sped up, and Ichigo found herself turning back towards him until she was looking upwards into his eyes in the dim light. " Kish…"

"Shh," he said. "Just go back to sleep."

"Will you leave?"

"I'd never dream of it."

She smiles gratefully. "So you weren't a dream last time, were you?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. I'm always here, Ichigo-chan, whether you want me or not."

She heard a smile in his voice, but her eyes were already drooping closed, so she couldn't see it. For the second night in a row, she muttered sleepily in reply, "Good…"

-------

Lettuce paced the room thoughtfully, her glasses folded up in the palm of her hands. _What's going to happen? All day I've been getting these weird foreboding vibes about… something. But I'm not sure what… and then today – While Ichigo was on break – he showed up again! Is she right, is he really there just to see me? Oh, I hope s- I mean not. _

She shook her head, sitting herself down at her desk. She put down her glasses, which were now fogged with worried sweat and fingerprints. But right now she didn't care; the only thing she cared about was the new threat of a vampire… and possible more. The sad thing was, she had no clue who Kish's brothers were, let alone is they were really related to him. So how can she stay safe? How can **anyone**?

Oh, how Lettuce longed for some advice…

Forlornly, she wouldn't get it.


	19. A Kiss and She's Not Breathing Back

**A/N:** Remember, the title was taken from the Jimmy Eat World song, "Pain". I love that song. And just so you know, this was somewhat a difficult chapter for me to write; took me forever to finally finish it. This one is skippy and emotional, guys, so I hope you all can handle it! The next chapter should be out real soon, too, seeing as how this one had such a terrible cliffhanger.

_Be on the lookout for chapter 20: "Someone Call The Ambulence" (title from the lyrics of Placebo's "Infa-red")._

_And please... REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!!1!one_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 19  
_"A Kiss With Open Eyes and She's Not Breathing Back"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Laying next to her was like heaven, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin and hair, feeling the pulse in her veins, soaking up the warmth of her body; the kyuuketsuki are not permitted to enter Heaven if they ever officially die (and stay dead), so this was the closest thing a vampire could experience to the joys of such a place. For Kisshu, though, there is nothing better than this.

While he laid there, he thought about his brothers, Pai and Tart; vaguely he wondered how the younger of the two was doing with his blood preference, and if he was falling for her like Kish was – has – for Ichigo. _Who knows, maybe Taruto will find himself in the same place as me with his own girl, _the green-haired teen thought with an amused smile.

-------

But in reality, Taruto was sitting in his own bedroom at this point, his back against the side of his bed, his legs out in front of him, useless. He wasn't asleep since he cannot sleep, but he was somewhat in a daze… and a depressed one if that, which was so unlike him.

He has thrown himself into worry and came out with thoughts of (but not quite) love, so now he was swirling in what felt like depressed pudding. _Damn, bad analogy! _He thought suddenly, mentally kicking himself. For once he thought that he pictured the girl instead; and this just made him groan in despair, his head lolling over onto his shoulder. "Chikushou," he murmured to himself, his fingers idling picking off nubs on his old blanket from childhood (that is to say his _human_ childhood, of 'course).

Tart bit back wanting to call out for Pai, because he was rather a stick in the mud and also not needed. Really, Tart needed no one right now, and yet he wished Kisshu were here to keep him company and back up his doubts. For right now he was still fretting over his vision, not to mention feeling all too much like a child 3 times younger than what he was. And that vision still plaguing his mind didn't help.

With a sigh he reached over and pressed a button on the remote that controlled his stereo system from across the room. He forgot which CDs were inside the 6-disc system, but didn't care. Any music was good for Tart right about now.

-------

Ichigo woke in the perkiest of moods, humming to herself while she got dressed. As she hopped down the stairs to grab breakfast, her father intercepted her. She immediately shrunk back, fearing that he knew what her mood was all about, or could at least guess.

She was right; he guessed. "Ichigooo, why are you so happy today? Don't tell me something happened! You're not seeing someone, are you? Who is he?! Tell me, Ichigo! No one is good enough for my daughter!"

_Here we go, _she thought while rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about it, Papa. He's not so bad –"

"Ah-ha! So you **are** seeing someone! I knew it! Gahh, who does he think he is, trying to take my baby girl from me?!"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to be late for school, Papa. Ja ne."

"What? Wait, Ichigo, get back here and tell me –"

But she was already out the door, a piece of fruit between her teeth and her backpack over her should, a grin in place.

-------

"So get this: I heard Ichigo and that new guy Kisshu are seeing each other."

"No way! The guy from America? He's so hot; she's lucky."

"Nah, I don't think so; he's kind of a jerk."

"What? No! He's totally cool. Don't be like that, Nishwa-san!"

Zakuro could hear them, girls of her own senior class, gossiping about her friend and drooling over her new boyfriend. It was stupid and she just turned her nose and headed to class, thinking, _people should care less about other people's personal lives and try more to care about their own. _She wasn't being snobbish; she was only being honest, although more on the brutal side of it.

And though she'd admit that Kish looked passed his years, maybe even more than herself (even with her model body, making her seem to be in her 20's), it was more in his aura than his actual features. It was like he came off as much older, though not superior, to everyone else. There was something about his that felt… deep, like he'd seen more than everyone else.

That reminded Zakuro of the lavender-haired man she kept seeing at the café she worked at; although him more so, since he was a doctor and clearly not much older than 23 or 24. And yet she felt the same vibe, that he's seen more and possibly been through more in his years than any human could ever witness, let alone experience. Maybe it was because he_ was_ a doctor, or maybe it was for some other reason.

No matter what, she still felt that weird presence of them when they were nearby, and it bothered her. Zakuro didn't like offset things like that. Call it OCD or whatever you like, but it just didn't settle right with her; no one so young, 17 or 23 or whatever, should come off the way those two did.

-------

"Momomiya-san, hey, Momomiya-san! Wait up!"

_Oh no…_ Ichigo mentally groaned. _Aoyama._

"How are you today?" he asks sweetly, sweat on his forehead from kendo practice.

"I'm… um… fine, thanks," she replies, trying not to look annoyed.

"Hey, I was wondering, do you think you and I could study together after school today? I have a test coming up, and –"

_Wow, he finally has the guts to ask me out. But too late, I'm taken. _She almost laughed at him, but held her tongue. "Oh, gomen, Aoyama, but… I'm kind of already seeing someone."

He looked hurt for a moment, but it was so quick Ichigo hadn't seen it. "Oh no, don't get me the wrong way, I was just… I meant as friends."

_He's totally lying, _she mentally sighs. But still she kept her demeanor and smiled at him. "Well, in that case, it couldn't hurt. To tell you the truth, I need a little help before one of my tests, too; so why don't we meet at the library in 20 minutes?"

The brightest smile anyone could ever possibly have lit up his tan face, and he nodded. "Sure thing!"

_I hope Kisshu doesn't get all jealous on me because of this… _she thinks, again sighing in her mind, shaking her head outwardly while Aoyama Masaya scampered off to change into his normal clothes. _Studying with someone isn't too intimate, right? I mean, friends study together all the time…_

Oh, if only she knew how wrong she was.

Studying can look very intimate at times, and Kisshu was just the type to see it the wrong way and get jealous immediately.

Poor Ichigo, she had no idea as to what was in store for her.

-------

It didn't take long for Kish to see them together, hunched over a pile of books and papers. And it took even less time for a slight heat to rise to his face as he flushed with all the worse-possible emotions: anger, resentment, envy, revenge…

But then he smiled, the tiny bit of heat leaving his cheeks as he grinned wickedly. He knew it wasn't Ichigo's fault; she was probably talked into it. So really, his target automatically was Masaya, and he knew that the boy was out to steal his girl, his bittersweet strawberry. It was so obvious the way he looked at her that Aoyama was in love with her, too; but nothing can compare to Kisshu's love! So why not teach the tanned boy that…?

With this in mind, Kish teleported away, not even caring if anyone saw him. They wouldn't think anything of it, anyway; a trick of the eyes or spaced-out moment, nothing more. They wouldn't be able to tell.

Moments later, everything was set up; thank Kami for the vampire's gift of teleportation. "Ichigo will _love_ this; Aoyama Masaya can kiss my ass."

-------

And love it she did. Minto had stayed after for cheerleading, so when Ichigo returned to her locker for her things after the study session in the school library, Mint was right by her side, slipping on her nicer shoes and picking up her backpack when Ichigo opened her locker.

"Whoa," was all the navy-haired girl could say as Ichigo gawked at the chocolates and origami that came flooding out of her locker.

"Minto-chan, look! I think they spell out something," Ichigo muttered breathlessly, staring at each paper animal, each with a character written on them.

"Here, let me help," Mint smiled, arranging the origami animals until they made a sentence.

"'My love, please come meet me by the clock in the park at 5:00.'" She read, and Mint whistled.

"Damn, Ichigo, your boyfriend is smooooth."

Ichigo just smiled, her eyes twinkling.

Carelessly, the cheerleader added while pointing to the chocolates, "You going to eat all of those?"

-------

She never ran so fast in her life, and even though she only had time to stop at home and change clothes (and adding some perfume and retouching her make up) before she had to be there, she was still worried that she might not make it on time. _But Kisshu-kun loves me, right? He'll wait for me if I'm late._

As an excuse, she told her parents that she was just going out with some friends for a little bit, and will be back by curfew; after all, she didn't want to worry her father more than he already was about a boy "stealing her", and it was only Thursday.

She slowed down as she neared the park, trying to catch her breath. Winding up breathless in front of your date seemed a little… but then again, some of the things he did left her breathless anyway, like that surprise in her locker not long ago. But still, panting was not a good thing.

So she steadied her pace and walked down the stone path of the park to meet her boy, whom she was falling for terribly. "Kisshu-kun!" Ichigo waved.

He looked up from where he sat, and a smile reached his lips that was more like a smirk. "Koneko-chan, glad you made it! I have a surprise for you."

"When don't you?" she giggles in response.

When she reached him, he brought forth a basket and a blanket, and said, "I brought us a picnic supper, complete with blankets, hot chocolate, and steaming food. Up for it?" Kish gestures to a nearby tree, where a different blanket was already laid out.

The strawberry girl couldn't have looked happier, and with a squeal she nodded and followed him to the spot beneath the tree, and with gentle hands he wrapped her up in the other blanket and brought out some food. She noted that it was mostly meant for one person, and she guessed it's because he doesn't eat (what humans consider to be) food anymore.

In her blanket Ichigo shifted her weight and settled herself down while Kish offered different kinds of food, some steaming hot Japanese dishes, some Chinese, and one or two Thai. _Everything Asian under the sun is accounted for, _she thinks with a smile.

"I wasn't sure what you would be in the mood for, so I got a little of everything," he explained, reading her face.

She looked at him and asked, "What's your favorite? Or, at least, before… you know…"

He shrugged. "I guess it'd be the Thai food; less greasy than Chinese and spicier."

"Then serve me some of that first," she winks.

-------

Taruto was walking home with Pudding again (trying his best not to act the way he felt, which was completely crushing on her) when it hit. Immediately the blonde was down on her knees with him, calling out, "Taru-chan! What's wrong? What's happening? Are you alright?!"

But he was the far opposite of alright. The kyuuketsuki have many general rules, basic things that they learn. One of which is, while using their powers the rest of them is weakened, when they are in the sun they are rendered as helpless as a mortal (although not as easy to kill), and when near someone of their blood preference they are also vulnerable.

So for Taruto at this very moment that another strong vision was occurring, it didn't help in the least bit to have Pudding right along side him. His senses dulled as a wave of pain shot through his brain, and he began panting like a dog while Pudding came so close to him, touching his arm and worrying about his tormented cries.

In this vision he saw everything much too clear, and by the look of the sun's position, it was about to happen in the next few moments. It was still the same park as before, but instead of a bench he saw a ruined picnic, in which Kisshu was leaning over Ichigo's body, her neck bleeding and his fingers dialing rapidly on his cell phone.

_I have to find a way to prevent this… _was all he could think as the pain and vision receded. He felt slight nausea, a symptom rare for a vampire; but then again he was practically intoxicated by that banana-sweet dark-chocolate-tart scent that was radiating off of Pudding's skin. He bit back his fangs and struggled to stand, all the while Pudding crying and lifting him up.

"Gomenasai," he mutters, and before she can ask what for he's running, running, headed for the park and his brother, who was in potential trouble. _Please let me make it in time…_

But unfortunately, not always can you prevent things that are meant to happen; because whatever the case may be, **everything happens for a reason**.

-------

Like everything he does, it came out of impulse. And like every reaction she makes, it's a bit over exaggerated. So the second dessert was on her lips and she found him leaning in for a taste (although not of her hot chocolate), it all went the way of the newlywed.

If that confused you, all it meant was that they began kissing.

And like any kiss Kisshu gives, it was passionate and wet, a tongue rolling over another tongue, lips brushing and noses touching, warm and delicious.

Ichigo wasn't shy, but she wasn't very bold, either. And this kiss was so much deeper than any she's experienced, and that was saying a lot since she's hardly experienced any at all. And yet she was enjoying herself, wrapped up in a blanket with his arms around her, her own around his neck, a smile in his kiss. It was crude to only say "she liked how he tasted", but it was more or less the truth; he was rustic-tasting, woodsy without the woods, real without the flesh, cool without the shivers. It reminded her of late fall like it was now, like tasting the world around her in one person. She's never shared something like this with someone before, a deep kiss in which you get to know the other person in a different way.

On the opposite side, Kisshu was feeling the same thing, but in a different light. He knew what she tasted like, especially after her mistake on their first date. But this was dissimilar in the way that there were no sharp fangs or blood to get in the way. It was like kissing with the human approach, but better with his developed senses. What he tasted in her was more than just bittersweet strawberries, but also a warm sun, fresh and untainted, like spring. It was like soaking up the essence of spring, warm and inviting, but in a person. A fresh harvest of strawberries sprinkled in rain, the sun shining over them. It was the only kiss he ever wanted to have, the only one he wanted to hold and keep forever. _Only Ichigo, _was his logic, _she's the only girl I ever want, and she's all mine. _

But like all teenaged French-kissing, it leads to something else because of hormones; the mouth is never enough. So slowly Kish edged away from her mouth and went down her chin, kissing gently; then her jaw, sucking lightly; but then her neck, in which he paused for a diminutive moment before common sense left him and he was kissing anyway, the thrumming of her heartbeats touching his lips.

If only he were more wise than this…

But he wasn't.

So with each beat of her heart his fangs tickled, growing in miniscule proportions until his breathing became quick gasps and his eyes dulled, the thirst for her blood slowly ebbing away all other senses.

Kisshu was not one for controlling or containing himself very well, hence his brothers' moving to Japan. And it was in that moment that Ichigo was blushing a deep red and holding him to her warm body, his lips grazing her skin that his vampirisms took over completely.

If only he wasn't such a monster deep down…

-------

Tart was lucky to be a kyuuketsuki, never having to worry about his heart racing or his breath quickening or his legs cramping when he ran. With this fueling him and his determination to preventing Kisshu biting the ruby-haired girl, he pushed onward, trying to reach that tree in the park.

But just as the two figures were in sight, a sickness spread over his stomach and chest, weighing him down.

Ichigo was on the ground, Kisshu right on top of her, his head bent just below hers, his hair falling on her jaw line.

He was too late.

Kish had bit her.

-------

The flavor exploded in his mouth, the warm, sticky liquid coating his tongue and teeth, and a soft moan escaped Ichigo's lips. He felt her muscles tense beneath him as his fangs first sank in, almost as if she were squirming in pain, but only for a second. Then she lay still, falling dizzy and sleepy to the blanket on the cold ground. But Kisshu wasn't aware of that, only savored the bittersweet strawberry-rhubarb pie taste that was sliding down his throat while he pulled out his fangs and lapped up the blood that spouted from her neck.

But something sparked in his brain, lowly buzzing at first, but then it was screaming like an alarm, and he lifted his head, opening his eyes wide.

_What am I doing?! I… I could kill her! _

Then the word "kill" sunk in, and he jumped into kneeling position, wiping his mouth and watching the crimson flow that still slid down her skin, and panic and worry washed over him, paired with the weight of guilt on his chest.

It was then Kish remembered Taruto's vision and warning, and he nearly screamed. But he swallowed his voice, realizing a scream would only draw attention. Right now any bystanders would think they were making out or something of the sort; probably wouldn't be able to see the blood from this far away.

_Of all the times not to have a car… just because I had to sell mine before the move… _

He whipped out his cell phone and dialed three numbers, holding it up to his ear while glancing around.

In the distance he saw a brunette in a red hooded jacket with navy stripes down the sides, golden-brown eyes glaring as they came closer.

_Taruto… _

A lighthearted female voice came to Kish's ear then, and while she spoke the words, "911, what's your emergency?" he thought up a quick excuse.

"Hello? My name is Kisshu and my girlfriend, Momomiya Ichigo, was bit by an animal in the park. She's bleeding nonstop and has fallen unconscious! I need an ambulance; I think she might bleed to death!"

"Alright, sir, if you please tell me your location we can send one right away…"


	20. Someone Call the Ambulance

**A/N:** Feck yus! 8D

_I won't be writing this for a little while now... must work on Narcotic Love and MAYBE Friends and Memories: In the Next Life. MAYBE. (none of you read that but trust me, the people who do want more of it, so MAYBE I'll get back to it in the next few days. :D)_

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 20  
_"Someone Call the Ambulance"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Lettuce smiled at the elderly woman in the hospital bed, and kindly tucker her in for an afternoon nap. The brainy girl liked to help out at the hospital sometimes, taking care of the sick, old, and weak. It was all she could do to help others, and it was a feeling of accomplishment that's she enjoyed.

Down a few hallways to the other side of the building, Pai got a call from his youngest brother, and slowly his mouth became a thin, grim line and his brows furrowed slightly. "Kisshu…" he spat.

"The ambulance should be there soon, Pai; please make yourself the one to take care of it. I can't begin to imagine what would happen if any other doctor saw the puncture wounds on her neck close enough to realize..."

"I understand, Tart-nii. Good bye." And he slammed the phone down, his long legs already striding in long steps down the corridor to the elevator.

But as he rounded a corner a limey scent passed through his nostrils, creamy and sour, with a hint of spice. _What? **Her?! **How…? And why here, why now, of all times? _

But Pai dismissed those thoughts as soon as he heard the wail of the siren and skipped the elevator, choosing the stairs instead.

Faster than you could say, "bleeding girl in danger", Pai was outside standing before the ambulance, his hands grabbing hold of the rolling stretcher as he wheeled it inside. The paramedics looked confused but let him take control, which he did quickly and neatly.

In minutes he had his new patient signed in, Kish in a room with him by her bedside, antibiotics and bandages being carefully wrapped around her while he got a red and white blood cell count from his nurse.

"She's a little low; she might need a transfusion if it gets worse," she informed him. Pai tried his best not to scowl. Kisshu just sank lower to the floor like a dog with it's tail between it's legs.

Lettuce, on the other hand, passed by Ichigo's ward on the way to the bathroom, and a flash of raspberry caught her peripheral vision. She turned her head and looked through the open doorway, her stomach doing a flip-flop thrice times over, making her feel sick; not only was her best friend laying unconscious on a hospital cot, but the young handsome man she's waited to at the café was donned in doctor scrubs, staring down the situation. _Things couldn't be worse…_ she thought sickly. She could feel herself turn a shade greener as she watched them wrap a fresh bandage over her neck, which was bleeding in an odd manner.

Pai could smell her all the while, as much as he fought to hide the fact. And yet he couldn't stand it any longer; he looked over and peered right into her spectacled blue eyes, smelling her worry and confusion and love. The doctor couldn't stand the last lace in scent, being 'love'; he didn't want her to love it, that only made things worse for him right now.

As the nurses called Momomiya Ichigo's parents and tended to her ever-oozing neck, Pai sent a glaring look at Kish that said, 'meet me out in the hall this instant'.

Noticing their movements, lettuce scampered away from the doorway and hid herself. She heard footsteps and a frustrated sigh, and she could almost picture the doctor pinching the bridge of his nose, and Kisshu look down.

Realization hit her then with cold fingers around her lungs, and burning tears in her eyes. _It was Kisshu! He's a vampire, and her neck was bleeding, so… my God, he bit her. I knew he was no good! Ichigo-san…_

"You promised you wouldn't go this far, Kisshu." Pai says in an oddly calm tone, but he was obviously holding back.

"Pai-onii, I swear, I hadn't mean to –"

_Onii? Does that mean… no, no! He can't be a vampire, he's a doctor! And I… I l-…._Lettuce's whole world was spiraling down slowly, like a slinky going down a long flight of stairs.

"Whether you meant to or not, Kish, it happened, and now I have to cover it up and hide your stupid, careless mistake. You're lucky Taruto called me, or else I wouldn't have been able to intercept the ambulance paramedics when I did!"

_Taruto? That sounds an awful lot like Taru-san's name, the boy Pudding loves to talk about. He couldn't be… of 'course, Pudding-san loves using nicknames! So that means that her friend is a vampire, too…? _She gradually shook her head and steadied her breath, so not to be caught. Eavesdropping wasn't very honest and it made her feel terrible, but Lettuce had to be here… she had to hear this… and besides, she had scurried off to give them this much privacy, so she's just accidentally hearing it, really. Sort of. **Kinda…**

"Pai –"

"No!" he barked, finally showing his anger. "You have no sense of responsibility, or self-control, or much of anything else! You're not fit to stay in this world in the open, Kisshu… I'm tempted to do something about you. But as to what, I haven't the slightest clue. I wonder how I'm able to even handle you living under my roof sometimes…!"

"It was an accident, I –"

"You're right," came Pai's response, his tone changing. "It _was _an accident, at least that's what I'll tell everyone. What did you tell the operator? An animal bite? Heh, oddly, that's not much of a lie… it was an animal that bit her, just of a different evolution that any other. But it'll do."

Another sigh, one of regret, probably made by the forest-haired boy. "Just tell me what to do now, Pai."

"Now? Now you leave this hospital, now you lock yourself in your room, now you dump that girl over the phone, because now you're never leaving that house again. Think of it as a sort of… grounding. Yes, that's about right; you're grounded, Kish."

There was a sputtering sound that came from the younger boy, one out of protest and anguish, and Lettuce craned her neck to see Pai gesturing to the ward, as if telling his brother, 'you've done enough here, so just leave'.

And then, right before her eyes, Lettuce saw a wave of the air like heat in the summer, and Kisshu was **gone**.

-------

"Mom… Dad?" Ichigo murmured as she came to.

Her mother's voice came to her ears in response. "We're here for you, sweetie. The doctor said you got bit by an animal while on your date! How terrible! Are you feeling alright?!"

"I knew you were going to see a boy instead of your friends! How can you lie to us that way, Ichigo? We're your parents, and we love you!" Her dad cried.

"Papa…" she said, still able to roll her eyes, even though her neck was a little sore and hard to move. What happened, anyway…? She didn't remember any animal. "You would've told me not to go, and I really like him."

"That's just what I'm afraid of!" he sulks.

Her mother shook her head at her husband and then turned to her child. "Anything we can get you?"

"Water," she replies.

"Good," says a nurse who just walked into the room. "Because it's medicine time."

"Medicine? What for?" pipes up her father.

"Well," the nurse explains, "We don't know what diseases the animal had, so we gave her a rabies shot and now some antibiotics, and the doctor said a muscle relaxer as well, for some reason. Pai-sensei insisted that all the other things were unnecessary, because test results showed no signs of anything drastic, but who knows for sure, right? All out of precaution. Bites are serious matters, after all."

_She sure likes to talk a lot, _Ichigo thinks. _Now, what happened again? I was with Kisshu-kun, eating, and then we were… kissing… then what? Oh! He must've bit me! Wait; does that make me a vampire? What happens when a kyuuketsuki bites a human, anyway? _Her head was reeling.

"Aw, poor thing looks horrible. Here, hun, take your meds and go to sleep."

"Can we take her home tonight?"

The nurse takes this into consideration. "Hmm, I suppose so, but I'll check with Pai-sensei to make sure."

And then she was gone, out the door to find the purple-haired man.

Her medication all swallowed and water sucked down, Ichigo settled herself in the sheets and tried to remember what it was like to be bitten…

It was fuzzy (or maybe that was the medicine kicking in?), but she recalled a pinch of pain and then sweet release, and her whole body turning her soup in Kisshu's hands… and everything felt warm, like swimming in a giant bath. Was that the blood flowing? She wasn't sure, but the whole thing made her blush and shake her head embarrassedly, turning onto her side away from her parents (so that they didn't see her red face).

"Oh, I think she's going to sleep. Let's leave her be and talk with the doctor, okay?" she hears her mother mutter to her father, and he makes an agreeing noise.

She could almost picture the way her mom would lay her hand on his arm, and the way they would stand up and walk away from their chairs. But that's just what comes with living with someone since birth; you know how they act and what tones of voice they use and how they sound when they laugh, and so on. _I wonder if I'll ever get to know Kisshu that closely… like marriage. But can I even marry him? He never ages, and… oh, but he bit me! I should be furious with him! So why aren't I? _

-------

He didn't go home right away; he was too pissed off with himself to. So instead he was up on his favorite rooftop, overlooking the now darkened sky. The stars were vague because of the city lights, but he could still make out a few constellations.

Kisshu sighed to himself, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. _Pai hates me for sure. And as for my dear koneko-chan? Who knows. She won't change, though; her blood kept flowing after the bite, which Pai says is a good sign. 'If it stops and the wound begins to heal, they'll be a vampire in a month. But you need to be the first blood they taste when they start craving it, or else they'll reply on their instincts and kill any human they please.' Yeah, Pai, I know. That's how you tamed me and Taruto; that's how you tame any vampire you turn. It's something you and the Elders picked up on centuries ago. _

And what a simple way to handle it, too; it's what saved Kisshu from being a rogue, although since it was Pai's blood and not the original person who turned him, Kish still has the taste for humans, though he doesn't pursue it; that's what got Pai started on stealing from the hospital.

At this tiny fact, Kish shook his head and felt a strange emotion fill him, a mix between regret, sorrow, guilt and shame. He wasn't used to it, and a burning sensation pricked at the back of his eyes. _What? Am I… about to **cry**? Can vampires cry…? _

Apparently they could, for a sleek, lukewarm wetness slipped down his cheek, and he touched a finger to it. It came back a pink color, and with a tiny lick it tasted like salty tears… and his own bitter blood. _Apparently my tear ducts are so unused that they're a little rusty… so I'm almost crying blood. How disgusting. _He wiped at his face, grimacing at the blood in his tears. Kish hated blood suddenly, feeling sick at the thought of it, which is almost impossible for a vampire. And yet he felt like puking, and vaguely he wondered if it'll come out as blood, too; although not his own, of 'course.

-------

Taruto paced the room, and briefly he noticed Ichigo walking with her parents out the door, a patch of gauze on her neck with some medical tape. He shrugged and sighed, waiting for Pai's shift to end; it should pretty soon, it was getting late.

"Come on, Tart, let's go home," said the doctor, sounding tired.

"Too bad you can't sleep, eh, Pai?"

"Too bad indeed," he nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I think I have a headache," he adds.

"I know that feeling all too well," chuckles the brunette.

"Well I don't; haven't had one in years, maybe 40 or so."

Taruto stops walking and blinks. "Wow, Pai-nii, do you ever feel _anything_?!"

"Not until lately, it seems," he says with a scowl.

Again Tart shrugged, and soon he was climbing into his brother's car. He had walked all the way from the park to the hospital, and did not plan on walking home. _Kisshu is so lucky, he can freaking teleport!_

The ride home was silent, so surprise there. Or, at least, it was silent until they were almost home and Pai said, "She was at the hospital, you know; I don't know why, but she was there, and she heard me and Kish talking. I wonder if she knows…"

"Of 'course she knows, she was bit by him!" he replies, thinking his older brother meant Ichigo.

"Not her! I mean… _her,_" he says softly, and it startles the boy.

"Your… blood preference? That 'her'?"

"Hai." The doctor replies curtly.

There was a moment of silence before the laugher came tumbling in. "Kami, Pai, you too? I thought it was just Kish and me –"

"Don't be foolish," he snaps, "I don't love her like you two idiots. I'm simply stating the fact that she overheard and probably knows, that's all."

"I don't doubt that she knows; that Lettuce girl always looks crossly at Kisshu and a little frightened. What I bet she didn't know was that you, a respectable doctor, was his brother. And she can only conclude that you have to be a vampire to live with the guy." But then he laughs again. "Although, vampire or not, who **can** live with him?"

Pai says nothing, only focuses on the road ahead of him.

Tart rolls his eyes and looks out the window, watching the scenery fly by, and soon they were home.

-------

"Pudding-oneechan has been frowning ever since she got home," says one brother.

"Think she's sick?" says another.

"Maybe her lunch was bad…" thinks one.

"Oh! What if she has gas?" suggests another.

"Nuh-uh, I think its love," says the only sister, a dreamy look in her big eyes.

"I think you're right," smiles Nanny, coming into get them ready for bed. "She had that same worried frown this whole time. I bet something happened to someone she cares about."

"A boy?" asks the little girl, hopeful.

"Maybe," winks the caretaker. "But for now, a bedtime story! Who wants to hear Beauty and the Beast?"

"I do, I do!" pipes up the girl.

The boys groan. "We already know that one, Rusuban-san! Disney even made a cartoon of it."

But the older woman shakes her head. "But they don't know my version. Anyone ever read the book Beauty? No? Then sit down and let me re-tell it. It's a good one, I promise."

"Does Beast still turn into the prince?" asks the little girl.

"He does," she nods. "But there's a lot more to it than that."

"What about the candlestick guy and the clock guy? Are they in it, too?" asks one of the little brothers.

"Almost; instead, everyone is invisible, nothing but people in the wind that make things for you and give them to you out of thin air. And they talk, too, but only in whispers. One of them is the teapot," she adds.

The children were hooked. "Tell us the story, tell us the story!"

"Alright. Well, you see, it all began when…"

In the other room, Pudding could hear them through her wall. It was muffled, but she could still make out Nanny's soothing voice and the words she spoke. The blonde girl sighed and muttered, "I wonder if Taru-chan is okay. Does he not like Pudding? He just ran away.… Did I say something wrong? No, Pudding always says good things, always. So maybe… oh! I get it! Pudding was too close to Taru-Taru, so he got embarrassed and ran off!" she nodded, in complete agreement with her detective skills. "That's it, yup, that's it."

So with a reliving sigh, she settled down in her covers and listened to Rusuban-san's story, suddenly wiped out and ready to sleep.


	21. Spreading the Cancer

**A/N:** Here you go, fresh off the press. Enjoy. :)

_The chapter title was taken from some of the lyrics of "Evil Angel" by Breaking Benjamin. That's one of my most favorite songs of all time; if you like hard rock, check it out._

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**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 21  
_"Spreading the Cancer"  
_**----------------------------------------------------

Sick to his stomach, Kisshu paced the room. How could he do that to Ichigo, to his beloved koneko-chan?

The door downstairs slammed open and he could hear Taruto's voice, but oddly not Pai's. He could smell Pai, though, so he knew he was in the house. _I wonder if mister doctor is going to give me a real lecture and a worse punishment now that he's had time to think things over a little more… _Kish sighed in his mind.

"Kish-nii?" Taruto calls, walking up the stairs. "You up there?"

"Hn," he grumbles in response.

His door opens slightly and the brunette sticks his shaggy head in. "How are you?"

"That's a weird question to ask," he retorts, plopping down on the bed.

"I know; it's just that… I thought you weren't going to…"

"Yeah, well, I did, and I hate myself. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No."

"Humph," Kisshu says, trying not to act as shaken up as he felt. Realization was finally settling in, and it shook him to the bone. How could he do that to her…?

"Kisshu," Tart says lowly, sitting down on the bed next to his adopted brother. "It's not easy. If anyone, I know that as much as you. Being what we are… it sucks. But it's what we chose –"

"What **you** chose, you mean! I never asked to be this – this – this **demon**. But I am, and I'm paying for it.… Because maybe, deep down, this is just what I am! Some blood thirsty guy who preys on the ones he loves. How sick is that?" _Sometimes I feel like this is all I ever was… some overly passionate character who would kill to get what he wants, no matter what it is. But is that really me? Am I really some pathetic, sordid guy?_

He looked like he was going to either cry or explode. His face was tinted pink, which rarely happens for one of the undead. His palms were on his head, his fingernails scratching his scalp. He looked strange to Taruto, completely feeble and scrunched up, soaking in his regret. And suddenly, this made him mad. " Kish!" he barks, "Get up, get up! Right now! I'm getting you out of this weird mood. Come on, let's go straighten things out."

Golden eyes flash upwards and connect with a honey brown, utterly confused versus utterly determined. "Straighten out with who? And how? …_What_?!"

Tart shook his head. "With Ichigo and Pudding, and by lending them a little visit. Pai doesn't have to know, and it may help patch up your feelings. So are you with me?"

"Why Pudding? I didn't do anything to her."

"But I did… I kind of ran off when I was walking home with her," he sweat drops.

Kisshu almost laughs, but in the end can only muster up a smile. "That's a bad thing for a boyfriend to do."

"Well, she probably thinks I'm sick, since I had a vision right before I ran off…"

"Oh."

There was a pause, but then Taruto slapped the green-haired boy on the back. "So are we going or not?"

Kish's gold eyes dart back and forth for a minute while me mauls over the possibilities, but soon he's looking up at his younger brother and a faint smile comes to his lips. "What are we waiting for?"

-------

Ichigo yawned, her eyes peaking open. For a second fear seeped into her stomach as she glanced around, confused as to where she was. It was then she settled and realized she was in her own bedroom, out of the hospital, safe and sound. Gently she rolled her head to one side and then the other, feeling the tenderness in her neck. Her limbs felt heavy, as if she was too weak to move them. Is this what blood draining experiences do to you?

_Speaking of which, why am I still not bubbling with hate? _The strawberry girl muses, and for a moment Kisshu's grinning (and yet not smirking) face flashes across her mind's eye, and her heart jumps a beat. A blush came over her face and she shook her head, turning over onto her side (the wounded part of her neck facing the ceiling).

"Why do I have to love you?" she mutters, slipping gradually back into sleep.

And it was at that moment that Kish had teleported into the room, leaving Tart back on Pudding's lawn. Funny he should appear at that moment, and funny he should be rendered completely motionless while those words process in his mind. She's never said it before; she never told him she loved him. And without thinking, he blurts (but in a whisper so her parents couldn't hear): "Do you mean that?"

She's startled and for a moment, scared out of her wits. But then Kisshu's voice is recognized in her brain and she automatically smiles, sitting up in bed. "Kisshu-kun?!" came her excited whisper, and he unfreezes.

"I came to… uh… apologize. And see how you were feeling. And, um, Ichigo –"

While trying to move near her but not watching where he was going (even with his night-enhanced vision), he bumps into her stereo, which currently held a CD of all English music, which has been her recent obsession.

The vocals of the very talented Goo Goo Dolls filled the room, which had been forgotten to be on 'pause' this whole time. "_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now..._"

_Shit,_ Kisshu thinks. _That's ironically just how I feel about her. And sort of what I want to say to her, to make up for what I did. _He angrily hits the power button on the boom box, shutting out the rest of the song. Lamely, he adds in his mind as a afterthought: _good taste in music on her part, though; 'Iris' may be a little slow for me, but it's a nice song. _

He was just about to say something, but Ichigo gets out of her bed, her pink pajamas draped over her thin frame in a loose manner, the strawberry buttons cutely lines up her front, the lower button missing. Her hair was down and hung around her face in thick raspberry curtains, and her cheeks were warm with a blush. He swallowed whatever words he was going to say, simply loving how she looked, although he grimaced at the bandage on her neck.

"Kish-kun," she mutters, "What happened today?"

He fumbles at this, words coming up to the back of his throat and getting gulped down. Finally he said, "I bit you."

"I know that, baka," she says with a fake angry frown. "I meant: why?"

Again he fumbles, but less so this time. "I just… I mean… Ichigo, I'm so sorry."

She frowns, because in his fumbling, it all came out in English. And she hardly knows any English.

Mentally he bonks himself on the head, feeling like this whole visit was a stupid mistake and a waste of time; not to mention it could get him in even more trouble with Pai. He clears his throat and avoids her eyes, and rephrases what he said, choosing his words carefully (and in Japanese): "Ichigo, gomenasai. I swear I didn't mean to; but you were so close to me, and I could feel your heart beating, and I loved you so much… wanted you so badly… that I guess, in the end, my vampire senses overtook me."

She could hear all the remorse in his voice, and noticed the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. _He really cares about me, even if he can be a little… **sadistic** sometimes. _"Kisshu…" she murmurs, coming closer to lay her head on his chest. She briefly felt his surprise but ignored it. "I don't mind that you bit me; it makes sense, and it's not like you killed me or anything, or were going to. I know you'd protect me from everything else –"

"D-demo… I couldn't protect you from myself…" he mumbles, drifting off. She nods, wrapping her arms around his abdomen, the firmness of his body not surprising her, since she heard once that the kyuuketsuki have refined muscles. "Daisukininaru," she tells him, her warm breath hitting her face as it bounds off his clothes.

Knowing Japanese phrases like that, especially from animes, Kish knew just what she said. Whenever someone tells you that, it basically means "I've come to like you a lot," or "I've come to **fall in love with you**," and knowing Momomiya Ichigo, she meant the latter.

Trying to laugh it off a little, a breathless chuckle escapes his lips. "Well, you already know that I've felt that way for a long time…"

She looks up from his chest, her eyes searching the darkness for his eyes. She found them in the low lightly from the street, although she couldn't see their color. "You don't seem surprised…?"

He wasn't sure if she was mad at him or not, but he didn't like talking to her eyes; it was too hard. So he puts his hands up, lightly forcing her head back to his chest while he stroked her hair (vaguely enjoying it's scent). "To be honest, I am surprised. I just… didn't know how to take it."

He could feel her smile and her eye lashes fall as she closed her eyes, and her warm body on his told him she exhaled, an amused sigh. "Boys… they just need everything to be spelled out for them, don't they?"

He smiles, too, and soaks up her warmth; without blood to circulate his body, it always left him feeling so cool. It seems he doesn't need to worry about that feeling anymore.

-------

A ways away from Ichigo's moment, Taruto was having one of his own; although this one not so welcoming. He frowned to himself as he watched Pudding's sleeping form breathe through her bedroom window.

"Baka Kish… he should've teleported me _inside_ her room! Now how am I going to apologize? I can't do it at school, it'd be too embarrassing!" he grumbles to himself, kicking at the tree branch nearest to him. Call him a Peeping Tom if you want, but he technically wasn't doing anything bad. Just wishing he could talk to her, and glancing at her curled up body a few meters away. But now he had been there too long, so he jumps down and starts for home.

Although, when he got there, he had to sneak in through a window; Pai didn't see them leave, since Kisshu teleported them out. He had to, seeing as how the doctor wasn't going to lift his punishment at the blink of an eye.

Discontentedly Tart turned on a video game, something he was good at and could take his mind of things.

But in the process he forgot to cover up for Kisshu.

-------

Lettuce hardly felt at ease. She should feel fine, since Ichigo was able to go home from the hospital and spend the night in the comfort of her own home, having nothing but a bite on her neck. But just what kind of bite it was bothered the spectacled girl.

She can deny it to her parents, but to Ichigo and herself it was unavoidable: it was the mark of a vampire on her friend's neck, and nothing else. Kish had dared to seek his teeth into her, and now everyone is left with this mess.

And what a mess it was, the way it made Lettuce shake, her knees knocking together where she stood. Monsters of the night are real, it seems, and they're blood thirsty. _What's going to happen now? _She thinks in her distress. _Will Ichigo be alright? Will she turn into one of them? Will the group of brothers slowly pick off one girl at a time until they've bitten every girl in Tokyo? I bet that's what they do; they seduce young girl's hearts and then drink their blood. I can't believe I let myself like…_

Her thoughts drifted off from there as she lay down and closed her eyes, her fear making her weary. Lettuce wasn't cut out for something like this; she just **wasn't**.

And neither was Pai.

For across town the doctor paced his study, his brow in a permanent frown. _How dare he go against what he said – no, what he promised – and bite that helpless girl. After all we went through in America, he had to go and go it again, the bastard. No self control, none at all! Why can't he just control himself like Taruto and I? We're practically the examples of a model, refined vampire, and what is he? – The opposite, that's what; he deserves to be locked up for endangerment to others. _

The doctor shook his head, his purple locks shivering. He slipped off the reading glasses he'd been wearing, pinching the bridge of his nose for the umpteenth time that night. Sometimes he asks himself, _'Why was I meant to find him and take him in? Why me, and why Kish?'_

He'll never get his answer to those questions, but he can make a decision: Pai will rid Kisshu of his little problem once and for all.


	22. Being Human Can Kill You

**A/N: **Yeah, so, I updated. And it's weird now what FF.n does to the documents and repeated dashes and stuff. But whatever, at least you have this. It's a shorter chapter, by the way. Sorry. I just felt the need to stop it where I did.

_And yeah, this is now a T-rated fic. I realized it wasn't really that bad compared to most M-rated fics. i even updated the summary for the search page._

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
Chapter 22  
"_Being Human Can Kill You_"  
**--

To say that things were going smoothly for everyone would be the biggest lie to tell. The truth was, Tart was fumbling all day to explain why he ran off on his new best friend, Lettuce was shaken and worrying over Ichigo all day, and Kisshu was missing even though it was raining and hardly sunny at all.

"Have you seen Kisshu-kun?" Ichigo would ask.

"Have you seen Pudding-chan around?" Taruto would ask a few blocks away at the middle school.

And at both schools the two got mostly the same answer: "No, not lately." Turns out, and although no one knew it, Pudding had went home sick. She caught a little head cold and fever, sadly from waiting for Tart to come back. And as for Kish… well, things were all in Pai's hands; or were about to be, anyway.

--

_Why'd Pai keep me home today? It's a nice rainy day, perfect for going to school. Does he know I went out last night or something?_ He thought while he paced his bedroom, every do often looking over at the pulled back black curtains to watch the rain pelt the glass and stream down.

There was suddenly a knock, and by his clock it was hardly noon. Pai opened the door without a word from Kisshu, but he wasn't about to protest, anyway. "What's this about, onii?" he asks curtly, watching Pai's body as he walks in and sits himself down on the loveseat Kish had in his room near his own tiny television.

"What else can it be about?" replies the doctor coolly. "It's about you."

"What about me?"

"Just you in general," he says, crossing his legs and leaning back. "How careless you are, how involved you are, what you are, who you are, what you do, what you say, and how you say it. Just everything that makes up your personality and actions."

Kisshu is now utterly confused, so he sits down on the edge of his bed, looking across the room at the man, wondering who stole Pai away and gave him this imposter. "What are you talking about?"

That's when he exploded, standing up and was in front of the teen in seconds, his face flushed a dark pink, nearly red. "I'm talking about your lack of self control, Kish! How you bit Ichigo and then against my orders went and saw her last night! I'm talking about what a reckless abomination you are!"

The golden-eyed boy shrunk back, slightly afraid of the anger radiating off of Pai. His blue-violet eyes were alit with disappointment and frustration. "Wh-what are you going t-to do with me, then?" he asks, trying to sound defiant but only ended up sounding pleading.

"Something I should have done long ago, back when I found you a as a rogue…"

Barely audible, Kish ventures, "And what would that be?"

"I'm going to return you to your human state."

All Kisshu could do was stare in disbelief, wondering if that was even possible. But at the same time, a tiny pat of him was relieved; because for a fraction of a moment, Kish thought Pai was going to kill him. And the mental image in that moment had come across his mind, showing his head decapitated from his body, then engulfed in flames. But he shook that image away right after it appeared, trying to contemplate what Pai had just told him. "Is… is that even p-possible?"

The purple-haired man nodded, beginning to pace the room slowly. "It's complicated, and very painful to experience, but it needs to be done. You can't go around being the blood-thirsty lover you are right now; you'll more than likely kill that human girl if you keep this up. So I did a little research, got the data, and found that it's the only way to go. You'll return to the 17-year-old human you were, and then grow old and die like everyone else. Until you're physically 19 and ready for college, I'm going to keep you in this home with Tart and I; but after that you're on your own."

Kisshu sat back, frozen slightly with shock from all the information he had just received. _To think that, soon, I'll be just like Ichigo; a human…. _"But why are you doing this now, Pai? Why not before?"

"Because," he says stiffly, turning around from his pacing to look Kish in the eye. "I only thought it was a myth, something that can't be done. Plus, I wasn't able to perform it back then. But now it's just the opposite."

"So I really will be human again? Well God, Pai, why not do that for Taruto, or for yourself? Why not make all of us human?!" he exclaimed, standing up roughly. It was his turn to explode now.

Pai didn't look at him. With a guilty look, he replied, "I don't want to be human again. I've been this way for too long. It wouldn't be the same. But you've been going to high school for years, and you're in love. You deserve this."

There was a moment of silence, and Kisshu took that time to gather up the courage to ask quietly, "What about Tart?"

"If it works correctly on you, then he can choose for himself if he wishes to be human again."

"What are you saying? I thought you said it would work!"

"Not entirely. There is a chance… that it will **kill you**."

--

A smile reached the strawberry girl's lips when she found Kish in her bedroom when she got home from school. _Luckily my parents are both at work,_ she thinks briefly. "Kisshu-kun!" she giggles as she sets down her backpack and runs towards him for a hug. He grimaces at the patch that still was on her neck, but weakly smiles for her. "Why weren't you at school today? It wasn't very sunny," she asks, pulling away just enough to see his face.

He sighs, shaking his head, green hair brushing into his eyes. "Ichigo," he says with a serious tone, pushing her down to sit on the bed. He bends down, looking her in the eyes. "I have something to tell you."

"Hmm? What is it, Kish?"

He smiles at her, but it looked forced. "Pai says I'm too dangerous, so he's going to try something to fix it."

She waits patiently, allowing him to collect himself and tell her what that 'thing' is. "Hai…?" she urges.

"Koneko-chan… he's going to turn me human again."

Like a cartoon, he could watch her jaw fall down and her eyes grow wide. "Nani? Can… can that even be done?"

He nods, standing straight again and turning to pace before her. "I don't know how he's going to do it, though, because it hasn't been done in hundreds of years; something around 300 or so. And Pai is old, but not that old, so he's never done it. We don't know if it'll even work, but he says it should. I just… I just hope it doesn't kill me."

At that word, 'kill', Ichigo solidifies into a statue. "Kill… you…?!"

He stops pacing and looks at her, realizing the possibility of it going wrong and killing him was bringing tears to her eyes. "Oh no, Ichigo-chan, don't cry. It won't happen, I promise. Things will turn out just fine! Besides, if I'm human, we can age at the same pace, and I can live my life with you. You want that, right? Plus I won't be tempted to bite you anymore." he adds with a wink.

She wipes her tears away and looks up at him, nodding slowly. "Okay… okay."

Kisshu smiles softly. "Good. Now you won't hear from me for a few days, maybe even a week, but I'll be fine, alright? To prove it worked, I'll come to you during the sunniest day I can, and you can hear my heartbeat. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Again she nods in that slow, slightly unsure way. "Hai."

And then he was gone, teleported away back to his home.

--

After Taruto found out she was sick, he scrambled to remember what one does to make someone sick feel better. In the end he decided on some fresh flowers and a pot of soup he found the recipe to make on the internet. He had no idea if it tasted good or not, seeing as how all his senses for human food had been dulled. But he figured she wouldn't mind if it tasted bad; she'd just think he was a bad cook or something. "And it's the thought that counts in the end, anyway," he said to himself.

He chose sunny yellow daffodils to cheer her up, since he remembers that being sick pretty much sucks. And with apologizing for running off on his mind and flower and soup in hand, Taruto set off for Pudding's house.


	23. Trying To Heal

**A/N: **Here you go; another chapter to read and enjoy. I hope it's sufficent. XD

_-by the way, i just finished watching Juno. now i see why everyone liked it; it was totally awesome! it was funny with the one-liners, a little strange like Napoleon Dynamite, but touching in the end. hence my opinion about it being totally awesome._

_and OMG, this is my longest chapter yet! over 3,300 words!_

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
****Chapter 23  
**_**"Trying To Heal"  
**_--

It hurt her to know that he was going to be gone for a week or so. It also hurt her to know that he was going to be in pain. But what hurt the most was the possibility that he could die. And it was that fact alone that kept Momomiya Ichigo up half the night. She was pretty sure that at this rate she was going to have an incredible nightmare about Kish dying in her arms…

"…iiya!" she cried, her brown eyes flying open. "I can't let myself think that'll happen! I just have to pray for the best," she told herself in a whisper, her head shaking against her pillow. "Now, time for some sleep…"

Across town, Pai thought sleep was a good idea. "You'll be able to sleep after this, and dream. That'll be good, ne, Kisshu?"

"Sure, sure," the teen grumbled, lying down on the kitchen table as if Pai were about to operate on him. Which in a sense, he was.

"This part shouldn't hurt a bit; it's the transformation late that will."

"Like when I became one of the kyuuketsuki to begin with?"

The doctor looked down at him, frowning. "You remember that?"

"Not really," Kish admits. "But I remember enough to know that it hurt like a sunofabitch."

A small, wry chuckle escapes Pai's lips. "Indeed it does… your body was becoming immortal, after all."

"Hn."

"Anyway, let's get to work. I'll need you to eat this –"

Kish sat up to see what was inside the steaming bowl Pai held. Inside it looked orange-grey with spots of green and chunks of cream. He looked revolted. "What the fuck is _that_?!"

Pai looks inside as if he forgot what it was. "It's just a sort of stew. I need you to eat all of it."

Kisshu grimaces. "And, um, what will it **do** to me?"

The doctor sets down the bowl with a sigh. "It's the first step to making you human again, Kisshu, so will you eat it or won't you?"

After taking another look at the stuff, it somewhat reminded him of tomato soup with parsley and chopped potatoes. It wasn't this, of 'course; it was tinted grey and seemed to be bubbling on the sides, but it was more pleasant to think of it as tomato soup. Sense of taste dulled or not, he still knew this would be nasty to swallow. Nonetheless, he scooped up a bite and shoved it into his mouth, finding the thick, warm substance to be (oddly enough) rather comforting. "What is this stuff? It's kind of good."

"If I told you, you'd be spitting it out and refusing to eat anymore of it; which isn't what we want."

Kish's eyes bulged at that statement, and he wondered if he should rephrase the analogy of it to tomato soup with potatoes. "Er… okay… don't tell me after all, then."

Pai nodded to the bowl, asking Kisshu to eat more. The teen shrugged and plopped another spoonful into his mouth, chewing slightly before swallowing. "How is this supposed to help, anyway?"

"They say it flushed out your digestive track; gets it back to human standards. It's also supposed to get your organs up to speed to start producing… uh… human wastes again."

Kish stopped eating for a moment, the spoon hanging from his mouth. He frowns at his brother, saying, "You mean I gotta shit and piss again? Damn, I kind of liked not having to go to the bathroom like a normal person." Pai made a sort of shrugging movement, and Kisshu just rolled his eyes. "Great."

"Hey, it was either this or I kill you, and/or lock you up forever; and neither sounded so good to me, because I grew a sort of fondness for you, Kisshu. I never had much of a family, so you and Tart are all I have now besides my job."

"Kami, Pai, since when did you grow feelings for people?"

He chuckled lowly. "Just shut up and eat your stew."

"…And since when did you get a sense of humor?" Kish adds, but obeying the order. _Pai is a lot different now compared to his outburst on me before I went to Ichigo. Maybe after he blew his top, his emotions are allowed to flow freely like lava. _With his mouth full, he mumbles, "Maybe there's hope for you yet."

"At the moment, I could say the same about you."

Kisshu snorted in response. He then got bored of sitting there eating, so he picked up the entire bowl and dumped it into his mouth, trying not to gag when the chunky pieces hit his throat. He didn't even stop to chew. Wait, gag? Since when did he get his gag reflex back? "Hey Pai," he grins, setting down the bowl. "I think your magic mystery stew is working already."

"Good. But that was the easy part…"

Kish's smile vanished. "Vampire doctor says what now?"

--

Taruto bit his lower lip, being careful not to draw blood. He looked down at the porch and back up again at the door. _Maybe I shouldn't bug her… it's getting late… _But then someone peeked through the window near the door, smiling at him. It was an older woman, too old to be Pudding's mother. _Nanny._

Her face disappeared behind the curtains as she came walking to the front door, as Taruto could very well hear. The door cracked open, then came open completely in front of him. "Well good evening, Taruto-san. Are you here to see Pudding?"

He nods his head, the shaggy hair bouncing around his face. "Yeah, uh, I brought her some homemade soup and some flowers so she could get better…"

"Oh, how thoughtful and sweet of you! She'll love that. Why don't you come in, remove your shoes, and go up to her?"

"Uh… anou…"

"Come on, she won't bite. But I can't guarantee she won't give you the same flu bug!" the woman chuckles, smiling.

Tart nearly rolls his eyes. _Sure, she won't bite… but can I be so sure I won't?_

--

Lettuce was a mess, to say the least. But she became less of one the next day when she saw Ichigo at school. The raspberry-haired girl had news, and they seemed to be big. She looked bubbly and worried, which was a strange combination; although, if you knew Ichigo, it wasn't strange by he standards. "Lettuce-chan, Lettuce-chan!"

"Ichigo-san…? What is it?"

"There's something I have to tell you; in private. Follow me to the girls' room, okay?"

"Hai…" she replies, confused. Once they were in the bathroom, Ichigo waited for the girl in to get out before she unleashed her news.

Finally the girl dried her hands and left. Ichigo let out a sigh, then turned to her friend. "Kisshu-kun's going to become human again!"

You could not measure on any scale Lettuce's reaction. A little breathlessly, she asks, "N-nani…?"

"I know, right? I was the same way. I didn't even think it could be done; I mean, who ever heard of a vampire being re-turned into a human? It's insane! But Pai – that's Kisshu's older brother – told him he was too dangerous, so he found a way to turn Kish not-so-dangerous. Amazing, right? I was so happy! But then… Kisshu-kun told me…" and she drifted off.

"T-told you what?" Lettuce breathed, her voice small and wavering.

Ichigo's bubbliness left entirely. "That the process might… kill him."

The last two words were hard to catch, but Lettuce still understood. As much as she came to dislike Kish for biting and sucking on her best friend, she still didn't want the boy to _die_; because that was just cruel and terribly sad. After regaining some of her composure, Lettuce muttered, "He'll be just fine, Ichigo-san. He's tough, right? He can take a lot. But… is that why he's not here today?"

Ichigo nodded. "He'll be out all week at the very least; maybe longer."

Seeing her pained expression, Lettuce understood then that no matter what he did to her, no matter what he is, Ichigo still was in love with him. And she decided that if Ichigo could set aside something like that, then by Kami she could do the same; for her friend's sake.

It was then that the bell rang, and the two girls came bursting out into the crowded hallway. A navy-blue haired girl could be seen in the distance, and they smiled vaguely as they followed that bundle of hair to their first class.

--

Pudding had been feeling all the more better ever since Taru-Taru had come to visit her that night. She figured, if her good spirits kept up, she'd be back in school by tomorrow. Distantly, she leaned over to her bedside table and sniffed, taking in the cool, lightly sweet scent of daffodils. Suddenly she wondered: _Is Taru-chan my boyfriend now? He gave me flowers! And saw me when I was sick!_ She squealed and giggled to herself at the thought. It would be so nice to have someone like Taruto as her boyfriend! What more could she want?

Her stomach grumbled then. Maybe she wanted more food, actually. _Hey wait, didn't he make me soup, too? I'll have some of that!_ "Rusuban-saaan!" she hollered, getting out of bed and thumping down the stairs. "Pudding is heating up some of Taru-Taru's soup! Want any?"

As she came into he kitchen, she found a pot already heating on the stove, with her nanny sitting in one of the chairs reading a book. "Way ahead of you, honey. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, na no da!" she smiled, rubbing her eyes. "My body isn't as sore anymore."

"Well that's good to know," the older woman smiled pleasantly. "And I think that soup's heated by now. Care to check?"

"Hai," Pudding said, lifting the ladle off the counter and opening the lid on the pot. With a sniff of the water vapor and a stir and taste, she found it was a hair salty but incredibly good, and plenty heated; she even had to blow on it. She turned and said, "I'm turning off the heat, 'kay? It's ready!"

--

It was the most excruciating thing he'd ever been through, in his human or vampire life. Pai had waited until the stew passed through his system (nearly making him vomit) before he unleashed the real 'operation'. There was a lot more involved to becoming human than Kisshu could have imagined. It was like… it was like acupuncture and organ transplant and chemotherapy all in one, but twisted and morphed into something ugly and vile. It reminded him a little bit of the torture people inflict on one another to get information out of them; but Kish had no secrets to hide, so why was he being abused like this? Part of him also wondered if Pai was enjoying it.

"This – uhg! – must be some kind of – gack! – happy-play fun-time for you, P-Pai," he garbled out between clenched teeth and yells of pain.

The lavender-haired man shook his head slowly, easing his hands away from Kisshu. "No, it's not. I hate to do this to you, but we have to break down your body and make it human again. Your muscles need to be softened, your blood need to start flowing, and eventually your heart needs to be pumping, along with your brain back up to human speed and your senses dulled (except your taste, which will be enhanced). The brain and heart is the hardest to do; but right now, at the very moment, we need to work on your muscles."

"What about my teeth?" he ventures.

"When your heart is beating again, they'll automatically stop retracting and will stay in that slightly-longer canine form. In other words, they'll be essentially normal."

Kisshu wipes sweat from his forehead. "Humph; what a relief," he murmurs sarcastically. "But," he says louder, "I wish you'd stop pounding the hell out of me. What am I, meat that needs to be tenderized?"

Pai smirks briefly. "In a sense, yes you are."

"Fan-fucking-tastic. Pound away, then… and do that whole needle-acupuncture thing you were talking about. Kami, after this I'll be surprised if I can walk again, let alone be human and go on dates."

"You'll be able to do all of that, Kisshu, have no fear. After today and tomorrow, the rest is up to your body and how it reacts. I just hope you heal properly." Pai adds softly.

But Kisshu heard him. He'd sit up if he could, but instead he says in a loud voice, "Wait, if I _heal properly_? As apposed to what?! If I –"

"If your body rejects it and you die, or if some of your vampire traits stay with you." Pai interrupts, seeming to wince. "But that shouldn't happen. So just calm down and let me handle things. Besides, when you're not relaxed this takes a lot longer."

Kisshu lets out a frustrated, heavy breath. "I'm starting to feel really hot."

"That's because I'm manually getting your blood flowing through your muscles and veins again. Your skin is starting to lean closer and closer to human temperature."

"Seriously? You meant I'm getting my body heat back?" the green-haired boy inquires.

The doctor stops working for a moment to shrug. "Not quite your own body heat, but a likeness to it."

The teen took that into consideration. "Hmm… this might actually work out, Pai."

"I pray it does."

--

Two days of torture now passed, Kisshu lay unmoving, hardly breathing, in his bed. He felt tired and worn out, a feeling he doesn't get unless he hasn't drank blood in a month, which he's done only once before. But a wave of energy the size of a thread kept him from falling asleep. He wondered if, the moment his heart began beating again, if that meant he would be able to sleep again. He missed sleep; it was one of the things he looked forward to back when he was human. Sleep meant peace, darkness, and dreaming; three of his favorite things when he was alive. But would it be the same to him now?

Suddenly, he felt very thirsty; only not for blood. He wanted water. "Onii-san," he called, his throat getting even dryer from speaking. "Onii-san!"

Taruto was home by then, although Kish didn't know that. So when the younger boy came in, he was the tiniest bit surprised to see him. "What's up, Kish?"

"Taruto, do we have any water?"

The brunette frowned. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Do we have any water?" he repeats, unable to move much more.

"No, but I could fill a glass with some from our hose outside…"

"That'll do; just give me some **water**," he emphasized. Taruto nodded to him before scurrying off. _I hop Pai bought some human food, because I bet I'm going to need some of that next… _he thought sleepily.

A moment later, Tart re-entered the room. "Here. Anything else? 'Cause I got homework to do." he asks, trying not to sound as worried about his brother as he felt.

"Nah, that's fine. Arigato, Tart-nii."

"Yeah, yeah… just don't get used to me being your servant, because as soon as you're on your feet again I won't be." He tells him stubbornly. But inside, Taruto wondered just how much pain his brother was experiencing, and just what his chances were of staying alive. What if they came back to find him unmoving and lifeless…? But then again, a coma with the same properties is always an option. But either – death or a coma – were not a wanted outcome.

--

It was getting late; 5 days have gone by, but besides the spasms of pain and the near-vomiting feeling in his stomach, Kisshu had nothing but a headache and an un-beating heart. He was panting with every breath, somehow not able to become calm. His bones ached, his fingers and toes twitched, and he hasn't left his bedroom since the 2nd day after his final 'operation'. What was his body doing? Was it becoming human, or… dying? And by 'dying' he meant shutting down, because technically he was dead already since he was bitten.

Bitten. That reminded him: how was Ichigo? Was she alright without him? Or was she more than alright, perhaps in Aoyama Masaya's arms right about now? No, no, she said she loved **him**, not Aoyama; so there's nothing to fear. _Maybe she's worried about me; maybe she's just waiting. I definitely have to go see her no matter what happens, human or not. But what if I die instead…?_

Kisshu shook his head, which made him wince. He needed music. "Onii-saaan," he called, hoping for either one of them.

Taruto was again the one to show up. "Pai's at work; what d'ya need?"

"Music. Could you turn on my stereo? Whatever 6 CDs that are in that turntable are fine, I just need something to keep my mind at bay."

"Sure thing," the middle schooler says, strolling over to the stereo system, flipping it on and pushing play. He picked up the remote to it and left it in Kish's hand. "There. That all?"

"No, I want more water."

"Hmm, that's all you seem to be drinking lately, Kisshu."

"It's really all I **want** to drink lately."

"…In that case, I think it's working."

"…I _hope_ it's working."

--

The 7th day arrived, and Kish stretched out his limbs. Yesterday he was able to sit up and crawl over to the bathroom, which he found he has had to use for all that water he drank. He felt like a toddler, hardly able to walk, needing to be a big boy and go potty in the toilet. At this thought he laughed to himself, feeling even more pathetic.

But suddenly, at that laugh, he choked. He fell back onto his bed, his muscles feeling plenty stretched now. He clutched his chest, which was jerking violently with each laugh. He tried again, just chuckling lowly in a fake way, but this sent him falling back into laying position, his chest jerking again. _Thuh-dump, thuh-dump, _it went, rocking against his ribs. Then, without the laughter, it kept going. He closed his eyes, yelling out with anguish. _THUH-DUMP-DUMP, THUH-DUMP-DUMP, THUH-DUMP THUH-DUMP._

"Gahhhh!"

_Thuh…_

_Dump…_

_Thuh…_

_Dump, dump…_

_Thuh-dump._

It stopped. Kisshu's eyes flew open, sweat trickling down his arms, face, neck, and even his torso. He panted, his skin burning. He slipped a hand to his chest, with he felt pulsating dimly. It wasn't as violent or as loud now; just a soft _doki, doki. _

And that was it. His heart was beating again. It felt slower to him than it should, but it was beating nevertheless. As soon as Pai gets home, he has to tell him. He has to let Pai know…

The front door opened and slammed shut. _Perfect timing..._

"Kisshu? Was that you? I heard a yell."

"I… I think we've done it, Pai." Kish replies, sensing that Pai was just on the top of the stairs. Taruto's head popped in, Pai coming close behind. "I think… I think I'm human again."


	24. I've Never Felt So Numb

**A/N: **oh, my God; this is amazing! --I'm finally passed 100 reviews! thank you all so much; this has never happened in any other story, although I've come close. it means a lot to me, you guys. but let's see if we can get to 150, 'kay? good goal, right? haha.

_now, about this chapter... inside it we get a look at how Kish feels about being human, how Ichigo and Lettuce feel about it, and Taruto get's a foreshadowing vision like before. but let me tell you something... after his vision, you pretty much get an insight as to how this story will end. because you know what? I'm going out with one hell of a bang. literally._

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood**  
**Chapter 24**  
**_"I've Never Felt So Numb"  
_**--

There was an eerie stillness in the air after Kisshu had stuttered those unsure words. _I think I'm human again, I think I'm human, I think we've done it, I think we did it, I think…_

Tart said not a word, only ran to his brother to make sure what he said wasn't a prank. With light, chilled fingers he reached over to touch Kisshu's chest. There was indeed a dull _doki, doki_ thrumming through his chest. Taruto smiles. "You even smell different."

Kish sniffed the air. "What do you mean? I can't tell; actually, I don't smell a thing."

Pai got a worried look on his face, but Taruto didn't. "That means it must've worked! Hey, do you feel hungry? Want something to eat? We bought food…"

After a moment of thought, Kish realized his stomach felt achingly empty. "Yeah… some food would be nice."

"Okay, I'll go make you some. I'll be right back…"

Pai strode into the room after he watched the brunette scurry away to the downstairs kitchen. Being the doctor he was, he knew that made a human a human and what made a vampire feel alive again. So with delicate precisian, he took out a few tools he'd been holding in the briefcase in his hand; a doctor bag, if you will.

First a flashlight to test Kisshu's pupils; do they retract and dilate with normal human measure? Can Kisshu still see in the dark? He had to check that sort of thing. And the green-haired boy understood what Pai was doing, so he relaxed himself and moved accordingly, hoping he passed this "human test".

Next Pai took out his stethoscope, the round lower part being lifted to Kisshu's chest and back as he checked heart rate and breathing patterns. _Now this is strange,_ Pai thought, _his breathing is slightly fast, yet his heart is slightly slow. That doesn't happen with humans… _

Frowning to himself, Pai took out the arm band and hand pump to check blood pressure. This was a real test: was Kish's blood reacting normally after so long of being inactive? There was only one way to find out…

Gently he strapped the band around Kish's pale arm, although he looked a lot warmer in color than before. At least, warmer compared to Pai's nearly white flesh. With a quick series of pumps, Pai watched the band squeeze like a boa constrictor, causing Kish to make scrunched faces. Then, after timing an amount on his watch, Pai released it slowly. He glanced at the numbers on the dial, and they looked roughly average. Not quite human, a little below that to being (basically) half dead, but much better blood pressure than one of the kyuuketsuki.

The final thing was reflexes, hearing and taste. Luckily, Tart was in the room just in time for the taste test. He has made a simply sandwich, but it held so much in it: a tomato slice with salt and pepper, lettuce, bologna, sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and ham all on rye bread; very flavorful to a human, but not so much to a vampire. So where will Kish stand on this?

After one bite, chew and swallow, Pai got his answer.

"My God, this is the best thing I've tasted in a long time! I mean, I know Ichigo's blood was probably the best since being a vamp, but this… well this is fucking awesome." Kish smiled, taking another hefty-sized bite. "What did you put in this, Tart? I gotta know how to make it for my school lunch."

It seemed, on that note, the eerie stillness and unsure vibes evaporated.

Taruto shrugged. "It's an American-style sandwich, silly; or, at least, all the things I remember having on a sandwich. Do you really like it that much? It smelled kind of unappetizing to me."

Kisshu sniffs it. "Hmm, that's weird; I can only smell the bread. I should be able to smell at least the meat, maybe the cheese… But still, it doesn't smell unappetizing; it smells the opposite, really." And with that, he finished the whole thing off, wiping his mouth. "You get any milk?"

"Oh, uh, yeah… 2 percent, actually. Want it?"

"Of' 'course," Kish nods. He turns to Pai as soon as Taruto leaves. "So, what's my diagnostic, Doc?" he asks in English, feeling very much like his human self (or what he can remember of it).

Pai had been writing down everything on the same sheet you might see on the doctor's clipboard when you get an annual check-up. He slides his glasses off (despite having vampire vision, Pai still needs them to read) and looks up at Kish. "You're a bit below human standards. Some might say you have the hearing of a dog but the heart, nose and blood pressure of an old dying man. You're pretty messed up, actually. But I still need to test your muscle endurance, speed, and reflexes. Then we'll see."

Tart brought in the milk just then, but before he could get it to his older, now living brother, a seismic wave of pain shot through his skull, and he fell to his knees with a _therplunk_. The glass of milk rolled across the carpet, spilling creamy liquid in it's wake. In the meantime, Tart roared and held his head, a vision forming in his mind.

"Taruto, are you all right? Is it another vision?" Pai asks, kneeling down next to the boy.

Kisshu stands and hobbles over, his legs feeling terribly sore. "Tart-nii…?"

The younger boy nearly wanted to cry. It was a different kind of pain than the vision of Kisshu's blood-sucking picnic, but it was still just as fierce; you'd think that, after so many years, the pain would be less and less intense and the visions would just come more and more clearly/simply. But that wasn't the case at all; after the many years Taruto has been one of the undead, **never** has his visions came simply, clearly, or painlessly.

And with strange clarity in the center but fuzzy around the edges like visions before, Tart saw a scene unfold…

**… A car speeding down a street in Tokyo's shopping district. A flash of blinding lights in the dark night sky. Rain starting to come down in thin sheets. The sound of crashing metal. A girl's scream, a boy's shuddering breath trying to say something. A kiss before death in the dark, a hooded figure standing watch. Painful moans, then… utter silence.**

Shaking, Taruto stood again with the help of Pai. In the dark and pouring rain, he couldn't tell who was in the car crash, let alone what girl was screaming or who was kissing. It could be anybody; he's had multiple visions in the past about people that had nothing to do with him. He didn't know when it would happen, only where. He didn't know any dates or number of days, but he knew it'd have to be beginning to rain and had to be after sunset. And someone had to be driving a… what was it? A red car? Or was it yellow? Suddenly he couldn't remember, but he knew it stood out in the dark. And the girl who was screaming… was she the same girl who was being kissed? And that hooded figure! Who was it? It was a man, right? Or maybe… a woman?

"Pai, Kish…" Taruto said slowly, trying not to cry. "Someone is doing to die."

The eerie stillness settled once more in the air.

--

The sun shone brightly into Ichigo's bedroom, stirring her awake. What was today? Tuesday or Thursday? Or was it Wednesday? Suddenly she couldn't remember. But she remembered this much: her Kisshu-kun has been out of school for over a week now. Was he alright? Did it even work?

"Let's see… it'd be 7 days from Tuesday of this week. So what's today, again?"

The she realized: it was Thursday. She even remembered Minto yesterday talking about the new Naruto Shippuuden airing 'tomorrow', which is now today. So it was Thursday, and a sunny one if that. So where was Kish?

Sighing, Ichigo arose from bed, rubbing the sleep form her eyes. She yawned and stretched, her stomach grumbling. And so was her dog as she accidentally pushed him off her bed. "Oops, sorry Masha," she said hazily. The dog simply stood, shook his head a half dozen times, and began walking towards the hallway. _Way to shake it off, Masha,_ Ichigo thought to herself.

"Ichi, honey, are you up yet? I made breakfast for your father and there's still some left over!"

"Coming, Mom!" Ichigo called, smiling. She was worried terribly about her boyfriend, but something about this morning, this moment, told her things were going to be just fine.

--

**_"Fine; I just hope this doesn't end badly."_**

**_"Oh, it shouldn't."_**

Those words were spoken after school the day Kisshu met Ichigo. In that moment in time, when he had said "end badly" he meant Ichigo's veins being sucked dry with him to blame. But he has already bitten her, which is close enough; so compared to then, the "bad end" had already come. But this time he said those words again, only with a different meaning: he didn't want to end up short in his newly-found humanisms.

"I hope this doesn't end badly, Pai."

"Have no fear; it won't."

"Easy for you to say," Kish huffed, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. "But I feel so weak now, and so slow. And my senses aren't as sharp… I've just never felt so **numb**."

Pai nodded. "I can understand as much. But Kisshu, it's been two days now; hasn't your body grown used to your heartbeat and such? I mean, last night when I checked on you, all the tests pointed to nearly perfect human shape."

The teenager just scowled. "I don't feel like I'm in nearly perfect shape."

"Maybe it's the sun; after all, we never got to test what it'd do to you now that your body has changed." Pai suggested, pulling open the door. The sun that touched him made his skin tingle and his sight falter. That was just the problem with vampires and sunlight: it rendered them powerless and imperfect, nearly mortal. If they stayed out in it for too long, their brains would shut down and they'd essentially die.

But Kish seemed unaffected, or at least to Pai he did. To make sure, he asked the younger boy. The only reply was a quick, "Nah, I'm fine," before he walked out the door to high school.

The sun was blazing in the true blue sky, hardly a cloud in sight. It was hard to believe that just last night before sundown it was covered in purple-pink-orange clouds.

Speaking of which, these passed two nights Kisshu has been sleeping. No dreams, which means he didn't reach R.E.M. mode, but he was still asleep. And it felt great. He's never felt so relaxed and refreshed; maybe that was the numbness of his human-like body, but he felt it no matter what the case. And to be able to sleep again… it was a wonderful feeling.

Problem is, how long will he be living with Pai? When will his good fortune end and this 'becoming human' thing turn around and bite him in the ass? Because he knows it will; things Kish thinks are doing well always do.

--

The second she saw Kisshu in front of the school out in the blinding sun, she couldn't help but to go running up behind him, hugging him tightly. Some girls giggled and whispered things to one another around her, but she didn't care; Kish really was human now! It had worked!

"Hey," came a noticeably weaker voice. "You startled me, koneko-chan."

"I did? Then you really must be human!" she giggles in his ear.

He involuntarily shuddered at her warm breath against his earlobe. It was like he could feel her _more_ now… "Ichigo… there's something you should know –"

"Let me feel your heartbeat!" she grinned, turning him around and pealing open his jacket to lay her ear against his chest.

Because despite the sun, it was nearly winter, and he wasn't unfeeling to the cold anymore (hence the jacket). Smiling, he lifted her by her chin after she got a good listen, and touched his lips to hers.

"You're… warmer," Ichigo commented. Oh, she liked this very much.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lettuce saw this exchange of affection, her eyes widening and her cheeks flushing slightly. _He did it, he really did; he made Kisshu human… or at least, seemingly._ And by 'he', she meant Pai, although she forgot his name. In a sense, all she knew him by was 'sensei'. (Sensei, yes, you use for a teacher, but you may also call a doctor the same thing. Because doesn't a doctor go to school like a teacher? – Don't doctors teach new nurses or soon-to-be doctors how things are done? So yeah, now you understand.)

Cautiously, as if Kish could still bite her, Lettuce approached the couple outside the doors to the building. She smiled faintly. "Hullo, Kisshu-san; I see you're back at school."

Kish understood right away that this wasn't a pleasantry; it was a** test**. She obviously knew about his previous secret, and she was trying to make sure that he was completely human. So, as subtle as he could be, he grabbed her wrist and forced two of her slender fingers to his neck. He muttered lowly, "This enough proof for you?"

Lettuce flushed, the sudden contact startling her. But as she calmed down, she felt soft, warm skin and a thudding beneath her fingertips. She pulled out of the boy's grasp. "Did… did he help you do this?"

Kish frowned, and Ichigo on looked them with confusion. "If by 'he' you mean my brother, Pai, then yes; he did."

Ichigo looked at her friend. "Have you met him or something, Lettuce-chan?"

The light green-haired girl nodded briskly. "At the hospital a couple times. Um, Ichigo, I also saw him at the café…" she hinted.

Ichigo's brown eyes widened as she smiled. "Ooh, so Pai-sensei is THAT guy. I got ya. Amazing, huh? All vampire aren't so bad."

"We – I mean, _they_ – really aren't. Your friend here should talk to one, maybe she'd understand better." He grinned, also hinting. He could tell by the blush on her face that Lettuce had developed some feelings for Pai.

Lettuce shook her head. While nervously fiddling with her glasses, she replied, "Oh, oh no… I couldn't possibly…"

Ichigo laid a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "It's okay, Lettuce; I'll be there with you. How about a double-date?"

Kisshu looked alarmed suddenly. "I don't think we have time for that, Ichigo-chan; see, I was trying to tell you before…"

"Tell me what?" Ichigo said, whirling around. "Don't tell me you're going to dump me!"

"What? Hell no! I was trying to tell you that Taruto had a vision, and in it –"

Just then, the bell rang. So much for telling her about the car crash… because, who knows, maybe it was someone she knew. Maybe it was something important. After all, Tart said the scream he heard sounded an awful lot like Kish's girlfriend.…


	25. Incomplete

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
Chapter 25  
_"Incomplete"  
_**--

_Just then, the bell rang. So much for telling her about the car crash… because, who knows, maybe it was someone she knew. Maybe it was something important. After all, Tart said the scream he heard sounded an awful lot like Kish's girlfriend.…_

…But the vision was so vague. Who knows, maybe it had nothing to do with Ichigo. After all, Tart said it sounded like her scream, but let's be realistic here: just about any girl can sound like Ichigo when screaming. Any Japanese girl around the same age, at least.

A tad dejectedly, Kisshu sat down in his seat, not bothering to ask the teacher for his absent work. He'll get to it later. Besides, with all the schooling he's done as a vampire, he probably has a bachelor's college degree two times over. So what was the point, honestly?

Ichigo pitter-pattered to her desk, utterly happy. Her boyfriend was back at school to stay, and he was actually her own species now. Everything was perfect in her tiny world.

But would it soon become imperfect?

--

The next day, Friday, came up in everyone's blind spot; suddenly Thursday was here and gone, and it was almost the weekend.

Pai paced his study that Friday afternoon, purposely calling in to take a day off; there were plenty of other doctors at the hospital, so they should do fine without him. Besides, he has bigger fish to fry: like Tart's vision.

On account of the sun and vision issue, the boy in question stayed home as well. And although he'd rather be in school with his dear Pudding (who he admits to himself he's fallen for), he was instead stuck here with his oldest brother. Oddly, he wished Kisshu was here. And he even told Pai so.

"We don't need that ingrate," Pai mutters, still resentful of Kish's biting incident and lack of appreciation for being turned human again. "And anyway, what could he do in his weakened state? He's not one of us anymore, Taruto."

The brunette inwardly flushes. "Don't say that Pai, not ever. Kisshu is still our brother; he and you are the closest thing I have to a family, and just because he's not a kyuuketsuki anymore doesn't mean he's any less important to us!"

"That's not true; we can't live with him forever now that he's been changed. Once he graduates we have to say goodbye, because I can't have him being human around us; it's too dangerous."

"Dangerous? What the hell, onii-san? What are we going to do, **bite **him?!" Taruto snaps with a roll of his golden-brown eyes.

"We might be tempted to, yes." Pai admits.

Taruto looks sideways at him. "I can't believe you." He murmurs coldly. "I think… I think you hate him, don't you? You just want him gone!"

Pai looked furious, particularly in his dark irises. His voice, however, didn't show an ounce of it. "Don't say such a thing. If I hated him, why did I bother to help him? Why did I live with him for so long? Why didn't I kill him after he bit that girl, hmm? Answer me that, Tart."

The younger boy was about to, but then his facial features changed. "Why are we fighting?" he asked softly.

Pai sighed, long and deep. "I… I don't know. Maybe it's the sun." As if to prove his point, he pinched between his eyes and wiped his face prior to rubbing his temples. The massage was quick and went nearly unnoticed.

"And maybe, after all the shit that's been happening, we're just stressed out." The younger replies, referring to the action he had caught the doctor making.

"Don't swear, Tart," Pai smiled vaguely. "You're only a middle school student."

Taruto grunted. "Who are you, my mother? Besides, I've been alive long enough to be older than you; physically, at least."

Pai nods. "I suppose so."

"Now, about my vision… See anything in the news lately about a change in weather? Rain some time soon?"

"No, not for the next week or so, luckily. I don't know what I'd do if your vision came true in, say, the next couple days."

"Me either…"

"Who was in it again?" Pai inquires, moving over to the kitchen to make some coffee; he felt like he needed it right about now. Anything to drink, really; blood would be best, though technically he wasn't hungry for a meal. He merely wanted a 'snack' to drink.

"I'm not sure… there was a scream, and a car crash, and a hooded figure. The scream sounded like Momomiya-san, but the person in the car… wait, no, there were two people in that car!" Taruto explained with a pound of his fist to his palm.

"Two? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Only one died, though; the other was just hurt. I know because in the rain I thought I saw someone scrawling out of the car while the other kissed the girl who screamed." Taruto muttered, his eyes squinting as if he were trying to see something far away.

Pai took this into consideration. After a moment or two, he tried, "Were they both male, or only the one who kissed the girl?"

Tart thought that over. "Both male, I'm sure of it."

"What about the hooded figure, then?"

"…I have no idea. It could've been a girl or a guy, an adult or a teenager. It wasn't a child, though, I know that much."

Pai looked Tart over, seeing him as a child. With a short laughed, he asked, "And what do you consider a child, Tart-nii?"

He turned a shade whiter. "Everyone younger than me, of 'course! Elementary school students, toddlers, babies;_ those_ are children."

Pai chuckled. "Well then, I guess you fit right in."

Tart got embarrassed. "What d'ya mean, I 'fit right in'? I'm in middle school!"

"But you look like an elementary school student…"

"Oh, Pai, I so want to hurt you right now…"

"Don't; instead, how about some coffee? It's almost ready."

Taruto made a grumbling noise. "Fine; but don't add any sugar to mine, even if I do look like a little kid."

--

Later that day, after school hours, Pudding sat glumly in one of the café's white-and-pink frilly chairs.

"What's the matter, Pudding-chan?" Keiichiro-senpai asked the little girl, a slice of his newest pie recipe in his hand.

"Pudding didn't get to see Taru-Taru today," she sighed. "Right when I get back from being sick, he's out sick!"

"Aw, gomen. But you know what'll cheer you up? Trying my new banana-coconut-pineapple cream pie." The brunette offers, holding up said sweet.

She glanced over at the plate in his hands, and immediately her eyes began to sparkle. "Anou… maybe just one bite…"

Faster than you could say, "dig in", Pudding had swiped the plate and fork from Keiichiro's hands and was munching happily on the cream pie.

Across the way, Lettuce and Ichigo were on sweeping duty, Lettuce outside with Ichigo inside. Zakuro was in the kitchen finishing up the last of the dishes while Minto sat calmly at a table near Pudding, sipping tea. "Quite a rush we had today," Minto commented. "Lots of customers."

"Too many if you ask me," Ichigo whined. "I think my arms are going to fall off!"

"Yet you were so energetic when things began…" Ryou Shirogane hinted, looking sideways at her.

Ichigo turned red.

"It's because her boyfriend is back at school after being out for over a week," Zakuro stated, poking her head out of the kitchen. She was smirking about it, too.

Ichigo straightened herself. "Yeah, so? Can't a girl be happy about seeing the guy she loves after a long period of time?"

"A week is hardly a 'long period of time'," Zakuro scoffed. "And did you say 'love'?"

Ichigo turned even redder. "Maybe I did."

Pudding smiled and jumped up from her finished plate of pie. "Wheee, Ichigo-chan is in love! Guess what, Ichigo-chan? I think I am, too!"

Lettuce walked in from outside and hears this, her naturally pretty pale skin turning a shade whiter. "W-with who, Pudding-san?" _It's the vampire, isn't it?_ she feared.

"My friend Taru-chan; he's Kish-chan's younger brother. It's funny that we like brothers, no na da!" the little blonde girl chirped.

"Hmm, yes, very funny…" Ichigo said with a frown. _Pai-sensei didn't turn him human, too, did he? If not, then Pudding might be in trouble if Taruto is anything like Kish…_ she thought while absent-mindedly touching the band-aid on her neck. Ever since that bite, she would sometimes get shivers down her spine for no reason. That doesn't mean she'll be turned, does it? She shouldn't, since she hasn't already. Still, her blood ran cold in her veins every so often around that spot, and it was quite unsettling.

Clasping his hands together, Keiichiro smiles warmly. "I think that's all for today. Why don't you all go home for some well-earned rest? – And Pudding-san, you can bring home the remainder of that pie for your siblings and yourself if you like."

"Really? Yatta!" the blonde cheers, running towards the kitchen to retrieve it.

In the meantime, Keiichiro came up beside Ichigo. "You looked a bit worried when Pudding-san mentioned who she might be in love with. Is something the matter with that boy?"

"Eh?!" the raspberry-locked girl stutters. "N-no, no, gosh no! Nothing's wrong with him! I was just… uh… surprised! Yeah!" she covers up, trying not to reveal that Taruto was a vampire. That would indeed be a bad thing to do; spill his secret, that is.

"Alright." The older man smiles. And then he's walking away.

Pudding comes from the kitchen, spinning around, a pie in her hands with only one slice missing. "Squee! I have pie!" She doesn't pause as she rushes off to the changing room, balancing the pie on one hands as she miraculously switches clothes faster than you could say, 'time to go home!'.

Which were precisely the words forming in Ichigo's mind as she, too, changed out of her waitress-ing uniform and headed for home. As her footsteps echoed down the sidewalks of Japan, suddenly the sound of bushes being crashed into reached her ears. With a curious/confused frown, she inclines her head to the shrubbery to the right of her, finding Kisshu place peculiarly upside-down between some broken branches. "Kisshu-kun!" she exclaims, immediately coming over to the green-haired boy.

"Uhg… what a way to make an entrance," he grumbles to himself lowly in English, making Ichigo appear more confused. He glances sideways passed his legs and struggles to right himself. His girlfriend notices and lends a hand, yanking him to his feet and back onto the sidewalk. Smiling, he dusts the leaves and twigs from himself. "Arigato, Ichi-chan! How are you?"

She blinks once before placing her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm fine, but you're not. Where'd you come from, anyway? You weren't walking ahead of me so you couldn't have tripped into those bushes just now…"

"Eh heh, I can explain…" Kisshu starts with a wincing grin. Suddenly his face falls. "Actually, I don't know if I can. I thought I lost nearly all my vampire powers, but when I was thinking of being with you a moment ago, suddenly I teleport and here I am! Although I could've landed better…"

Ichigo leans in a bit since Kish had been speaking quietly as to not be heard. She mutters back: "I thought your teleporting only worked when you thought of a location you know. How come it worked when you thought of me? And why is it out of your control?"

Kisshu blows hair out of his still-golden eyes. It was an exhale that clearly stated, 'dammit, I don't know'. He shrugs. "Let's ask Pai. He'd know. He knows everything."

She nods, thinking that made perfect sense. She smiles lightly, a pink tint reaching her cheeks as she walks along side him since he said 'let's', which obviously meant he was going to take her with him to his house. She's never seen Kish's house… it'll be interesting to see. She wondered what a vampire's house looked like. It probably wouldn't be all Gothic since, despite Kisshu's punk-ish style of dress during after school hours (or under his school uniform), Tart and Pai weren't like that. Plus, Japan isn't normally a 'hey look a Gothic mansion!' sort of place. Besides, that's merely a stereotype. So instead, due to Pai's income, Ichigo expected some place rich and big. She giggled with excitement and felt oddly bubbly.

Her boyfriend smiled over at her, reaching to hold her hand. She flushed deeper and gave his hand a squeeze, enjoying the warmed flesh compared to what it used to feel like.

After some time they finally turned the corner and walked up a path to Kisshu's abode, and Ichigo stared up at it. It looked normal enough on the outside; something just a tad bigger than a normal full-sized house. _Then again, only 3 people live here, so they don't need a mansion,_ she reminds herself. "What a pretty house," she grins, noticing the lack of windows but the simplicity that made it look artsy.

Kish shrugs. "Nah, not really," he tells her. Letting go of her hand, he strolls up to unlock the door. "I'm home! And I have someone with me."

"I know; I can smell her," Pai grumbles over the dregs of his coffee in his mug. Taruto was the only one to hear him.

Kisshu enters the kitchen, an unreadable expression of his face. "Hey Pai, Tart. You guys know Ichigo," he says lightly, nervousness brimming in his voice. "Ichigo, this is Taruto and Pai, my brothers. Pai was the one who took care of you at the hospital that one time…" and he drifts off.

"And Taruto is Pudding-chan's friend," she adds, smiling at said brunette. "Nice to meet who she talks so much about."

"She… talks about me?" he says lowly, the smallest amount of color rising to his dead, white face. A smile touches his eyes.

"Yup. A LOT." Ichigo winks. She looks to Pai. "Ne, Pai-sensei, could you help us? A little while ago Kisshu teleported to me without meaning to. Did something go wrong with the transformation?"

Pai nearly spits out the lasting sip of coffee he had been sipping. "N-n-nani?!" he sputters. "H-he can still teleport?!"

"Not very well," Kish mumbles. "And it was on accident. I have no control anymore."

Pai stands erectly, literally leaping to his feet. "Oh no; no, no, no, nono. This isn't good, not good at all…" he whispers to himself. He begins pacing, turning on his heel to walk stiffly to his office. He frantically flips through his medical books and ancient texts, even going as far to jump on the computer and check his history of the websites he used to look up how to reverse a vamp. He plopped himself down on the armchair in his office after a quarter of an hour.

Ichigo and Kisshu stared with puzzled expressions outside the office door.

"Onii?"

"Sensei?"

Pai glanced up at them, a cool sigh escaping his pale lips. "I'm afraid the transformation is incomplete. We need something else… and according to what I just found, that 'something else' is a blood transfusion because Kisshu's at the moment still holds plenty kyuuketsuki DNA in it."

Tart came up behind the two teens with wide eyes, hearing everything. "But… Kisshu used to drink blood. So why does he need a transfusion when he used to get all the human blood put in him that he needed?"

"Because," Pai starts slowly, "That was to feed him and energize him and keep his strength up. It went into his stomach, not his bloodstream and heart. What we need to do now is clean out all his old blood and fill him up again with new blood. We need a living donor, someone not afraid to give up half their life fluids for Kisshu to adapt and make his own…"

"I'll do it," Ichigo offers immediately, her heart aching for the boy beside her. "I'll give him my blood."

"NO." came Pai's response. Something flared behind his eyes to make the girl shrink back. "You've done enough. I won't let you endanger your life for him again."

"But…" she tries.

Kish cuts her off, laying a gentle hand on her forearm. "Daijoubu, Ichigo. I think its best if we find someone else to do it."

"Why? I want to help you, Kish. Please."

"Iiya," he says softly. "It'll hurt you. And I blame myself for any blood you lost already. Leave it to someone else."

Ichigo pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. But whoever replaces your blood better be compatible!" She of 'course didn't want him to die, not after the scare he gave her from being gone all those days while transforming back into a human.

"No worries there; a former vampire doesn't need any certain blood type. He's not the human he was before, so his old type won't matter now. He's evolved. Any donor would do in this state," Pai informs them, his tone low and exhausted. He had really hoped things would've gone perfectly smooth and allowed for no setbacks. Apparently such a thing can't be granted to the purple-haired doctor. "Well," he says after a long pause, "I'll research donors, possibly more than one. And I'll set up a date, making up some kind of disease that'll ensure I can give you all that blood, Kish."

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

"Now… will you kindly escort Ichigo out? She's making my head swim, and she's not even my preference," the doctor mutters as he begins placing his books and papers back in their proper order.

Taruto winces and nods. "Yeah, she has a pretty strong scent. Pudding's is nicer, but –"

Ichigo's eyes grow wide for a second, and she turns to Taruto. "Pudding-chan's blood is in your preference? Oh no, just great… and she likes you, too…"

Taruto actually blushed, as thin a pink as it was. "Sh-she d-does?" He puts his hands behind his head, grunting to hide his embarrassment. "Well I'm not going to bite her. I'm not that stupid, like _some people_," he remarks.

Kisshu sends the younger boy a look, his eyes narrowed. Then his face changes as he takes Ichigo by the arm and leads her out. "Don't mind them, Ichi. Let's just get you home before your dad worries. And hey, before I get that big transfusion thing, want to go out?" He flashes her a bright smile, one she can't refuse.

"Hai!"

As soon as she was out the door, Kisshu closes it behind her and leans back against it. "Kuso," he mutters to himself, completely on edge. He still had some of his powers and now had to undergo a big surgery? Well that was just peachy. What next? Was Taruto's vision going to wind up happening? _Tch. Of all the things to go wrong… _he thinks sourly. He shakes his head. _No sense worrying about it now. Right now, it's time to have some mind-numbing music time._ "If anybody needs me, I'll be in my room!" he calls.

Time for today to come to an end. But what will tomorrow bring?


	26. When Choices Collide

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
Chapter 26  
_"When Choices Collide"_  
**--

Well, tomorrow didn't bring peace, that much could be said. Over the night on Friday some clouds had rolled in from the wind leaking down from the mountains, and it quite frankly made Pai uneasy. What if those clouds produced rain? What if, within the next night or two, Taruto's vision came true? Who will be injured? Who will die? Who will be the cloaked figure to watch it all? And… who will scream?

Speaking of screaming, suddenly Tart began yelling and feeling as though his brain was being zapped out of his skull. Searing pain shot through him and shook his small body, causing him to fall to his knees.

Kisshu, being closest, was the first one to his side. "Taruto? Taruto, what's wrong?" he asks with heavy concern, his hands coming to hold the brunette's shoulders.

"It's... happening… again…" he breathes out through panting and grunts. "But… arhg! ...different…"

**…Rain coming down in thin, cold sheets. Bright lights flashing. A screech of tires, a body diving into another as a car swerves out of control. The sound of shattering glass, the murmur of bloody lips as a body crawls – the one that had been taken out of the way of the car – towards the fallen driver. A kiss, innocent and fading. Crying, and the screaming of the word 'NO!' from a female voice when she can't hear what the dying boy had to say. A cloaked figure steps forward, a dimly lit mouth under the hood opened in shock and horror. More rain… then, the whirr of sirens and utter silence.**

As Taruto wipes sweat from his undead skin, he stands slowly and attempts to ease his shaking. "Different how, Taruto? Tell me," Pai demands, his eyes boring into the youngest vampire's.

Tart gulps. "This time the car crashed because someone was about to be hit. I saw two boys in the car but then only one as someone dives at a girl to get her out of the way of the speeding vehicle. A-and… someone still died, and in nearly the same way, but this time that hooded person standing watched tried to help and looks afraid. Ad instead of painful groans at the end, I heard police sirens. It was still the Tokyo Shopping District, but the car was headed in a different direction, this time for the hospital."

"The hospital? What for?" Kisshu asks, a small frown on his face. If this vision were to occur soon, then he may be a part of it; he needed to go to the hospital as soon as Pai sets up a date for his blood transfusion.

"How should I know?!" Taruto snaps, tears somehow welling in his eyes. He's cried more often than the other two, so they weren't bloodied, but they were overly salty and burned the brunette's cool cheeks. "It's not like I'm there or see everything perfectly! It's not like I can read the people's minds in my visions! And it's not like I know when it'll happen, either! I mean, that first day I met Pudding-chan… I had a vision that I'd literally run into her, and it happened seconds after the vision ended. It's unpredictable! All I know is that it was at night time, possibly late sunset. And that, despite the police and ambulance on the way, someone… 'doesn't make it'." He says glumly, not wanting to mention a human's death, even if he was a bloodsucker, a species known for taking lives.

"Easy, Taruto," Pai mutters lowly, more or less soothingly. It sounded more 'grumpy' than 'soothing', however.

"Yeah, 'cause we'll figure this out," Kish murmurs, laying a lukewarm hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

For a moment he leans into the touch, his tears slowly. But then he's pulling away and shrugging Kisshu's hand off. "I can't take this anymore, you guys. I can't take all this responsibility! It's like… you expect so much from me… and…" he shakes his head, brown-highlighted-gold locks tickling his neck. "I don't think I can do it anymore."

"What are you saying, Taruto? Are you saying you'd rather be a human? Is that it? You'd rather give up your powers and everything you have, and the possible chances to help people just so you don't have the pressure weighing down on you any longer?" Pai snaps, his rarely seen anger rising. "What a coward."

"I'm no coward!" Tart retorts hotly. "What I mean is –"

"It doesn't matter what you mean," Pai says, his tone returning to mostly calm. "what matters is what you choose to do. What will you choose, Tart-nii?"

"I choose…" he thinks slowly. He looks to Kisshu, then back at Pai. "Nothing. I'll just stay the same as I am. No sense in turning human and no sense in refusing to cooperate as a vampire."

"Wise choice," Pai compliments. He then exits the room, retreating to the sanctuary of his study.

Kisshu whistles. "Well that was quite the ordeal," he chuckles airily, if not a bit nervously. The tension in the room had been choking him. "I'm going out for ice cream."

"What? This late at night? And in nearly the winter?"

"I have a sweet tooth, what can I say? Besides, I better put these human taste buds to good use." He grins, and soon the forest green-haired boy is also leaving, except this time out the front door.

Taruto sighs, plopping himself down on the couch. He wished Pudding were here. She always brightened his day, like liquid sun that didn't dull his senses or take away his powers, but instead enhanced the two. He shakes his head again, decidedly turning on the TV. The weather channel was on.

_"Expect high winds and rain on Tuesday night. A storm should be coming shortly after, and the temperature will drop to near-freezing; possible sleet or snow flurries on Wednesday and Thursday…"_ the woman on the television said in a chipper voice, as if she were utterly happy with the icy rain and storming.

"NO!" Taruto bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Tuesday. That was the night of his vision, he was sure of it. And it was no more than a three days away.

--

Lettuce could've cried. Things were not going well. As human as Kisshu was now, and as kind as Pai-sensei seemed, and as harmless and Taruto acted, she couldn't help but be afraid. And she couldn't help but be somewhat in love, too; somehow, Pai was alluring and Lettuce couldn't shake her feelings for him. And this scared her.

What's more, she was getting a weird sensation of dread, like something was about to happen. And not a good thing.

However, she stuffed it down and went back to getting ready for bed. But she was definitely going to talk to Ichigo tomorrow. After all, Ichigo was the only other person to know about the family of kyuuketsuki.

--

Monday came quickly. Pai found the only time to get Kisshu in for the transfer surgery was for Tuesday night. Little did he know that this is the night Taruto figured out when his vision would occur…

Hanging up the phone with the hospital, Pai paced over to the door and slipped on his white scrubs. He flapped the collar out from the back of his shirt and donned a hat. He picked up his shoes and slid them on one by one and headed out, ready to start his shift for the day. He yelled up the stairs to Kisshu to get ready for today, and that his appointed at the hospital was Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Kisshu rolled out of bed (since he could sleep now and was rather enjoying it) for school, yawning. He grumbled about tomorrow being too soon for a blood transfusion to himself as he showered and got into his clothes for the day. He slapped his head, realizing he forgot to do his homework. He sighed and shrugged it off as he headed out, backpack in hand.

The day was mostly sunny, so Tart stayed behind, though he knew the clouds would be rolling in later. Perhaps he could come in during lunch and have a half day of school. He hoped so, because he thinks he should tell Pudding Fong what she deserved to know: that he was a vampire. He knows he's hurting her by being so elusive, and if Kisshu could tell Ichigo, why couldn't he tell Pudding? It's bets to tell her before Tuesday night; after all, he had no idea who died and what girl nearly got hit. What if it was Pudding? Too many things were unsure, so at least – by telling Pudding that he's a vampire and what his powers are and the newest vision – he could explain to her the situation and possible save her from something, or get her help on it.

Nodding to himself, Taruto thumped down the stairs in the empty house and reached into the refrigerator for some blood to sip. He poured some into a glass and took it to the living room where he planned to catch up on some homework. He had checked the school website for what was due this week and wanted to get on today's work, as well as the work from the Friday before.

Meanwhile, Kisshu was at school, informing Ichigo about the allotted date of his surgery. "Since I have to do it tomorrow at 7:30, why don't we go out tonight? It's a school night, I know, so I'll be sure not to keep you out too late," he winks.

The raspberry-haired girl giggles. "Sounds just fine to me. Dad would appreciate you not keeping me out too late, too," she adds teasingly.

Aoyama Masaya happened to overhear everything, though. He got a tint jealous and felt defeated, if not a tad disappointed. Suddenly, the tanned athlete had an idea. "Kisshu-san," he says, cutting into Ichigo's and the other boy's conversation. "Do you need a ride tomorrow night? I'd be happy to take you to the hospital since I'll be heading to somewhere along the way."

"Oh, would you? That'd be great! You're so kind, Aoyama!" Ichigo grinned, giving the dark-haired boy a half-hug.

Kisshu's anger bubbled in his stomach. He sees what Masaya is trying to do: he's trying to impress Ichigo and get her admiration for his deeds. Well, it wasn't going to work. "Sure," Kish smirked._ That way I can pummel you into the ground when Ichigo's not looking and before I lose all my vampire strength._ Human or not, Kisshu couldn't get rid of his violent nature.

"Good. I'll see you at 7:00 tomorrow, then," Aoyama falsely smiles. "Ja!"

"Bai-bai!" Ichigo pipes up as Masaya scampers off. She turns to her boyfriend. "That was fortunate, ne?"

"Very fortunate indeed," Kisshu grins, a dark tint to it unseen by the girl in front of him. "It's a good choice."

She nods, smiling. Then the bell rings, and it's time for class.

--

As noon rolls by, Taruto grins at the sun retreating behind the clouds. He's decided to tell Pudding no matter what, but having no sun helps. He dresses for school and heads out the door, stepping out into the grey atmosphere as he walked to the middle school. Once he's signed in and seated in class, Pudding notices immediately and waves in his direction. "Taru-Taru! You're back!!"

"Hullo Pudding-chan," he murmurs in greeting. Her smile made him soften inside, though he didn't show it. "Are you feeling better? Last time I saw you, you were sick."

"I'm great, na no da!" she sings, plopping down next to him before the teacher came in after lunch. "But what about you? You're always out sick…"

"Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you about."

"Nani?" she asks sweetly. So oblivious, so cute, so… vulnerable. Taruto shakes his head. _No, don't think like that; just because, at the moment, her scent is swirling around you at intoxicating levels doesn't mean you want to bite her. She's your friend, and you've never wanted to hurt anyone before, least of all her…_

"Um, well…" he sputters, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. His eyes fall to the paper and pencil lying on his desk. A light bulb flashes above his head. "Here, let me write it out to you."

Pudding giggles. "Okay, whatever works for you," she grins. The little blonde clearly thought he was trying to tell her about his crush on her. Well, she'd be wrong, though he does like her that way he's not going to confess such a thing right now.

Thinking the words as he writes, Taruto scribbled: **_Pudding, I've been out sick because of the sun. It renders me weak like a human and so I usually stay home. You see, it's because I'm a kyuuketsuki. So is Kisshu and Pai. We're a family of vamps and I'm telling you this not to scare you, because we don't hurt people, I promise. No, I'm telling you because I trust you and I need your help. I had a vision…_** (and here he describes it as best he can with as much detail as he can) **_and I want to see if you can help me stop it from happening. Oh, and that's my power: I can see the future sometimes. Kisshu used to be able to teleport and Pai can switch people's personalities temporarily. All vampires have some sort of super power, usually a reflection on their wants or actions when they were alive. That's all I can say for now; here comes the teacher. _**

And sure enough, as soon as he writes that out and slips Pudding the piece of paper, the teacher strolls into the room. Briefly he had seen her do so in a minor vision, probably as a warning to hurry up his note. So he had, and now all he needed was Pudding's reaction.

But he wouldn't get it until she read the note after school that day.

--

Zakuro sighed to herself, bored out of her mind and wanting something to happen. Luckily for her, her manager at that moment decided to giver a call. "Moshimoshi!" the cheery voice of her manager piped up at the other end of the line. "I got a big gig for you, Zakuro-san! It's a photo shoot for this new line of clothes from some American woman… and it pays a bunch! You're interested, ne?"

"It's sounds more exciting than _all this_," she huffs, gesturing to no one at the area around her. She flips back her long violet locks. "So when's the first shoot?"

"Tomorrow at 8:00, actually. That's not too soon, is it? They would have scheduled you earlier, but you know how it is: a more well-known model drops out and they need a new one. And you happened to be the second choice."

"I'd rather be the second than not a choice at all," Zakuro points out, her manicured nail scratching at her thigh as her skirt brushed against her leg and caused it to itch. "But sign me up. I can be there tomorrow easily. Where's it at?"

Her manager mentions a building she's not familiar with from experience but knows about from other resources. It was located near the hospital, about a block form it, to be exact. Just inside of the Tokyo Shopping District.

"I know just where that is. I won't be late, either. Arigato. Bai." And she hung up on her manager, leaving her to her work. Zakuro blew air out her mouth at her bangs. "Perfect. Just the thing I needed, "she says with no trace of sarcasm. Suddenly she groans, realizing Minto will probably want to tag along to watch. She detested babysitting the younger girl whom clung to her like an older sister since she's her idol. She didn't mind it as much, but sometimes it got frustratingly annoying. Yet she still cared for the rich brat, as if they really were sisters. Their relationship is complicated to say the least. She smiles vaguely. "If I'm lucky, she'll be busy tomorrow night since it's a school night."

And so the choices were made: Taruto told Pudding his secret, Kisshu agreed to be driven by Aoyama to the hospital, Zakuro was going to do a modeling gig, and it all will come together in a mesh of pain and confusion soon enough. How lovely.


	27. Consequences for Our Actions

**A/N:** i'm writing the next chapter RIGHT. NOW. you will not wait too long AT ALLfor what happens next. please be patient! the story is almost over! and the ending shall be very... bittersweet (not int he good way). and bloody (which is never good). you'll see.

--  
**--**

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood  
Chapter 27  
**_**"Consequences for Our Actions"  
**_--

Pudding's reaction was surprisingly calm.

"I don't care what Taru-Taru is; you're still you and that's all that matters," she told him gently as they walked home from school together. "I'm not sure I totally believe you, but that's okay! Pudding is just glad you trust her enough to tell her!"

"So… you're not afraid of me? Or that I'd bite you?" he clarifies hesitantly, his eye cast to the sidewalk.

The little monkey-like blonde girl shakes her head, her lips in a soft smile. "No way! I know you'd never hurt me!" She pauses. "Hmm, come to think of it, you being a vampire makes a lot of sense! My deductive skills must not be as good as I thought if I couldn't figure that out…" she muses to herself.

Pudding was so cute when she played detective, her chin in her hands and her eyebrows up in thought. Plus, it made her blood rush faster and create the tastiest scent… not that Taruto was thinking such things, oh no. he was just… admiring it, is all.

Suddenly, a golden hand shoots out to grab a whip-cream colored one, giving it a light squeeze and warming it. Tart looks over at Pudding, startled by her actions, and if he could he'd be turning redder than a fire truck right about now. "Pudding-chan…?"

"Promise me, no matter what happens, you'll always be by Pudding's side," the young girl says, her brown eyes glazing over as if she were on the brink of crying.

"Oh, um… of 'course!" Taruto agrees, shaking their hands.

Her fingers slip to grab his little finger. Childishly, she adds, "Pinkie promise?"

"Of 'course," he repeats softly.

She smiles and brings out a piece of butterscotch candy. She offers him one, but remembers that he prefers blood.

He startles her by saying: "No, it's okay; butterscotch is strong enough for my taste buds to pick up! But I won't taste it the same way you do…" he says, taking the honeycomb-shaped piece from her hands before she could put it away. He pops it in his mouth, making a face at the starting flavor before smiling at her.

Her tinkling giggle fills his ears, and he softens. He can't say 'no' to Pudding Fong. Then again, who can?

--

Zakuro grunted and rolled her eyes the next day as she passed through the school day and her shift at Café Mew Mew. In the changing room, she buttoned a fashionable parka around her shoulders, dropping the hood over her hair. She can't let herself get wet in that drizzle, now, can she? Because it had started to rain during her last hour of work. "Uhg. I detest rain," she sighed.

"Are you heading out to your photo shoot now, onee-sama?" Minto's voice asked eagerly, her dark blue eyes grinning.

"Hai," the older teen replied with a toss of her head to conceal the remainder of her hair under her parka.

"I wish I could come, but you know how it is: school nights mean curfews, and I can't be out too late."

Zakuro nodded her head, pushing passed the cheerleader. "I'll see you tomorrow. Ja ne," she called with a careless wave of the hand.

And then she was off.

Meanwhile, Aoyama swung by Kisshu's home to go to the hospital for his blood-related surgery. "Are you ready for this?"

The green-haired boy smirked. "Been ready, Masaya."

The tan boy frowns slightly. "It's disrespectful to call me by my first name without a honorific, American Boy."

"I know," Kish grins wickedly as he hops into the passenger seat of the car. "But I don't respect you, so it's what you deserve."

Aoyama continued to frown. He put the car in gear and started to drive. "What's your problem with me, eh, Kisshu-san? You act quite indecent to me." He glances in Kisshu's direction.

"That's because you're a tree-hugging hippie who's trying to steal my girl," Kisshu snaps, yet there's still an eerie grin on his face. It turned his handsome features into cruel angles, which made Aoyama recoil back and stare at the road.

"I am not a 'tree-hugging hippie', Kisshu-san; unlike you, I respect and care for our environment and do teeny things to help it stay the nice way that it is. And I will admit that I've been interested in Ichigo for a long time, but I won't steal her from you."

_Liar,_ Kisshu thinks coldly. _He's lying. I can tell by his tone of voice. He does want Ichigo for himself, only he won't say it in front of me. Heh, fine, let him keep it to himself. But he'll get his just desserts. _His smirk returns. "Look, sorry 'bout that Masaya, I don't mean it. Hey, what d'ya say we call a truce? I'll stop being a jerk to you and you stay 20 meters away from Ichigo at all times. That way, we're both happy!"

The other boy sends him a look. "Nice try, but I am in love with Ichigo too much to do such a thing."

"Yeah, well, I'm too much in love with her to let her go. Ever. So you better back off; I know you only agreed to drive me because of her. And I only said 'yes' so that I could have this little…" He searches for the correct word to use. "Heart-to-heart chat with you." And he smiles even broader, liking this more than he should.

Aoyama merely watches the windshield wipers speed up as he sets them into overdrive for the increasing amounts of rain. He swallows hard. "You're being difficult, Kisshu-san."

"And so are you," he fires back.

Silence, save for the radio Aoyama had playing. But the two teens let the silence fill the car, because neither of them wished to talk. Things were getting tense. _But I suppose this is what I get for my actions, _Kish thinks idly.

Suddenly, he starts to feel sick, and his fangs arch in his jaw, growing the smallest fraction of an inch. "Wha…" he mutters breathlessly, pain beginning to prick at his head.

"Kisshu-san? Are… are you alright?"

No, he was not bloody 'alright'. Something's wrong. His body felt… weak. Not human, but not vampire-like, either. The blood pumping through his veins seemed to slow it's course, as if his heart were reverting back into one of the dead. "Go… faster…" he said between grit teeth.

"I have to obey the speed lim–"

"I said go _faster_, bakayarou!" he barks, insulting Aoyama with the 'idiot!' comment. But he needed to get to the hospital and have that blood injected into his system now.

He wasn't going to last much longer…

Aoyama hit the gas pedal and sped through town, rushing in the pouring rain to the hospital. He just prayed to Kami that things turned out for the best. Ichigo had better appreciate this; Kisshu, too.

--

Ichigo paced her room, wondering how Kisshu was doing. He should be getting ready to leave for the hospital soon. Oh, how she hoped things would turn out alright. It should, right? Ex-vampires don't need to worry about compatible blood, so everything should be fine. …Right? Dammit, if there was ever a time she wished for future-seeing powers, it was right now. Maybe Taruto could help? She could call him. But no, that seemed stupid.

Masha began barking randomly, and Ichigo's head spun around to find him in her doorway, barking his tiny furry head off. "What is it, boy?"

He sensed something in the rain that only animals could sense: a wave of foreboding.

"Ichigo, sweetie! Could you come down here for a minute?" her mother's voice calls.

"Sure thing!" she replies, yelling as she walked toward her door and opened it.

When she came down the stairs and into the kitchen, her mother was at the stove baking something. "Uhg, I can't believe I forgot to get more brown sugar. I was going to make something for your grandmother, but halfway through I realized we're out of brown sugar." She turns to her daughter. "And I can't make anything else, because this is your Gran's favorite. So, um, could you run out and get me some from the grocer's? it'll only take a minute to walk down to the Shopping District and grab me some brown sugar. And oh! We're running low on cream and some blackberries would top off this dessert wonderfully. Could you get me all that?" she asked, making a pouting face that seemed to beam in a smile.

Ichigo nods. "Of 'course, mom! Cream, blackberries, and brown sugar. Got it."

Her mother hugged her. "Ooh, thanks so much, love. Here's some money to pay with, and make sure to get two of those plastic boxes of blackberries; I'll need more than just one."

"Got cha," Ichigo nodded sweetly.

And then she was out the door.

--

Zakuro began hailed a cab, Ichigo put up an umbrella and walked down into the heart of the city, and Aoyama continued to drive towards the hospital. Pai paced the white halls, Taruto bit his nails, hoping the accident didn't happen after all, Lettuce aided an elderly woman at the hospital, and Pudding and Mint sat at home, oblivious.

Everyone was in their proper places. And Fate was right around the corner, ready to deliver it's mighty blow.

Time seemed to freeze as Zakuro watched form the safety of her cab a lightning bolt strike a small tree off to the side of the street. Time held still as Ichigo nearly ran into said tree when she tried to cross the road. She hesitated in her pace to avoid the tree, but this is right when a car came speeding, much too fast, down the road.

Inside the speeding car it was Kisshu and Aoyama, Kish starting to groan and twitch as his mostly-human body was weakening. Pai didn't know this, but when you try to convert a vampire back into a human, a sacrifice must be made almost immediately to refuel their blood, since they have to run their bodies on actual food and not crimson bodily fluids. But he hadn't done it soon enough. And now… now, Kish was stuck in between being a human and a vampire, his body daring to give out on him completely. If he didn't hurry to the hospital at this ultra speed, he might turn into a vampire and attack the first human in sight (which would be his rival) or perish by 'heart attack'.

But as he began to sweat and look through the streaming rain on the windshield in the dark night, Kisshu saw a flash of lightning, and smelled strawberries. Sweetly tart, pungent in it's fragrance, and coming from directly ahead.

And that's when he saw her, right in the way of the car, right about to get hit by it because she tried to avoid a fallen tree…

"Koneko-chan!" he yells, thinking nothing but her even though pain was streaming through his body and time was fading into no time at all.

Tires screeched and there was a thump. Bile came to the back of Ichigo's throat. Kisshu was breathing heavily. Broken glass sounded in both their ears like an annoying mosquito. Rain poured down, soaking water through their clothes to their bones as an umbrella went flying out of sight.

Zakuro screamed at the cab driver to stop and she came running out of the cab, the hood of her cloak masking her face in shadow as her jaw fell in shock. _What happened...?!_


	28. The Final Heartbeat

**A/N: **this is not the last chapter! the last one will be between 29 and 30, depending on how things play out when i write it. please review! and thanks for all your support. _there will be no sequel._

--  
--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood**  
**Chapter 28  
**_**"The Final Heartbeat"  
**_--

Kisshu had teleported out of the car and slammed into Ichigo to prevent her from getting hit by the car. They lay panting on the wet, hard pavement as the rain poured down and metal crunched right above them as a car hit the miniature fallen tree and flipped over itself, skidding to a stop some meters away. The windows shattered and the roof bent inwards, and one of the car doors smacked into a tragic light pole and popped open. Two airbags were exposed, along with a teenaged boy.

Aoyama had not been so lucky. He couldn't teleport out. He undid his seatbelt with some of his strength, but he had banged his head against the window and was bleeding profusely from the gash it created. Not to mention he felt something hot and sticky run down to his neck from his gut as he hung upside down for a moment until he collapsed on the ground. He heard footsteps, echoing in the rain. Ichigo ran from Kish's side to the wounded driver.

"Aoyama! Aoyama Masaya-san!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, unexplained tears melting down her face and blending into the rain. Her pigtails clung to her cheeks and her neck, weighing down heavily on her head. But she didn't care. Someone she knew – a school mate for years, someone a bit annoying but friendly – was dying right before her chocolate-brown eyes.

"Ichigo-chan! Come back!" Kisshu yelled over the honking horns and the murmuring voices that had begun to collect. Cell phones were being whipped out everywhere as people dialed the emergency number. _The car crash in the Shopping District… Ichigo screaming… rain pouring down… ohmaiKami, it's Taruto's vision!! No! It can't be happening now, not _this_ soon! And I'm… so weak… I just got my body into a pretty painful predicament from teleporting like that. Kuso, kuso kuso! KUSOOO!!_

When Ichigo reached the tan, dark-haired boy and yanked his head into her lap to try and make him more comfortable, all she could hear was his ragged breaths. "Mo…mo…mi...ya…-san…"

"Shh, shh," she cried softly. "You're going to be okay, Aoyama! I know you will… Just lay here and try not to move."

"Ai… aishit…eru…" he huffs out, leaning upwards.

Her face goes blank, along with her mind. She knew he must have liked her, but did he just say that he **loved **her? "N-nani?"

Suddenly, his hand yanks her down from the back of her neck, and Aoyama forces a kiss to her lips, which felt overly heated compared to his own. The kiss falls short, however, as he becomes terribly exhausted and feels lightheaded from blood loss.

Lights begin flashing as the ambulances from the nearby hospital come rushing onto the scene, ready to take the teen into their caring custody.

But he never makes it.

After that kiss, Aoyama Masaya lost his life.

Ichigo felt it; right on her very thighs she felt his final heartbeat. When the paramedic came to her, she shook her head. "He's… dead." she chokes out. He bows his head, waving off the stretcher that was coming up behind him.

"What about you? Or that green-haired boy over there?" the man asks her.

Ichigo glances upwards, realizing striking. "He needs to go to the hospital. He was supposed to have a blood transfusion tonight."

"Then we'll take him via ambulance. Had be been in the car?"

She knew he had. She knew he must have teleported; it was the only logical explanation. But she cant say that to this man. "…Hai, he had been. But… um… he had been flung out before the car crashed. Aoyama saved him by shoving him out that open car door," she lies, but it looks perfectly believable. Oh, how she felt so numb. Oh, how she felt so shaken. Oh, how she felt so ready to curl up and bawl her eyes out. Someone, right in her very arms, _died._ His blood was on her hands, and he had _**died**_. In a car crash right before her very eyes! And he had loved her. And… she almost got hit. But was saved. Yet was this the price? **Someone's untimely end?**

Kisshu protested against being taken on a stretcher. He stood, hunched over, to the ambulance. He held out a hand. "Come with me, Ichigo-chan. I need you there with me," he tells her gently.

Slowly, she slips out from underneath Aoyama's cold, wet body, and takes her boyfriend's hand. So numb… how are her legs moving by themselves? They felt like she was walking through jam. Her legs were wobbly and her chest was aching. Post-traumatic stress fell on her thin frame, and she found herself clinging to Kisshu as they climbed up into the truck with the flashing bright lights.

Suddenly, Ichigo heard Zakuro's voice. "Ichigo! Ichigo!"

She turned her head slowly, peering passed Kish and into the rain at a woman running towards her, tall and beautiful, the hood on her head falling back behind her from the rush of the air. "Zakuro…-san?" she murmurs softly.

"Daijoubu?! I just saw you nearly get hit by a car!"

She's never seen so much emotion on the aloof model's face. Slowly, the strawberry girl nods. "I'm… fine."

Zakuro sighs in relief. She glances at her watch. She had a photo shoot to do, but Ichigo.… She bites her lip, unsure what to do.

"Go, Zakuro. Everything will be okay. Okay?" Ichigo says faintly, her eyes telling her emotions for her since her vocal cords seemed unable to do so.

"Oh… yeah, okay," Zakuro murmurs. She knew for a fact right then and there that she wouldn't be able to concentrate for her shoot. Well, you win some and you lose some. Jobs, that is.

--

The ride to the hospital was quiet for the most part. Aside from the sniffs coming from Ichigo and the groans of pain coming from Kisshu, they held tight to one another and didn't speak.

When they arrived at the hospital, Lettuce was one of the first people besides the nurses to go to the ambulance. She had heard of the two that had left for the Tokyo Shopping District, as had Pai. He didn't move a muscle, though. He stayed up in the upper levels of the hospital, waiting. And somehow, was on the verge of tears. What if Kisshu had been in that accident? Pai tried repeatedly not to feel anything towards Kish and Tart, but deep down he knew he loved them like his own children, his own siblings. And this is why being on the verge didn't last long; soon he was crying, thin, bloody tears, his tear ducts so dry from misuse that there was nothing left but blood to cry with. The tears left dark red trails down his pale cheeks, and he sniffed once to stop it from coming out his nose as well. Wiping at his eyes, Pai thoughts hazily: _If anyone saw me like this, they'd think I had some incurable lethal disease. I better clean myself up. _

Slowly, Pai ceased his crying, trying to find hope as he wiped his face with a damp cloth and began to smell tart limes and creamy coconut. _Lettuce-san, _he realized. Perhaps, just his once, he could allow himself to see her and talk to her.

Wheeling in on a cot down the hallways into the emergency room came Kisshu. Lettuce, Ichigo, and a nurse or two were on the sides of the cot to help move it. Lettuce was looking very concerned, though not so much for Kisshu but for her best friend. She takes one glance through spectacled eyes at Pai, and the vampire doctor freezes. Had his fears come true? Was Kisshu in that accident? Was he dead or on the brink of death? Had it been Ichigo screaming in Taruto's vision after all?

Apparently so, but Kisshu didn't look banged up enough to have been in the car at the time of the crash. Pai's nerves settled themselves somewhat, and he put on his usual stoic face as he waved the nurses away. "Come with me, girls," he tells the two teenagers.

Ichigo and Lettuce exchange glances but nod. The strawberry girl was still too shaken up to tell Lettuce that Aoyama was dead or what state Kish was in, because even she didn't know. She merely knew it was bad, and that her boyfriend's life was in danger.

Into a prepared room they went, beginning to set up needles and wires and tubes to Kisshu, who was starting to panic and go into shock. "We need to sedate him," Pai murmurs mostly to himself. "Momomiya-san, Midorikawa-san, be my nurses, please. I don't trust anyone else right now."

Wordlessly the two girls nod once more and gather together the things they need, and do as they're instructed. They watch Kisshu's eyes fluttered closed as he goes under anesthesia. Ichigo makes a choking sound, her heart drumming up in her throat. _Oh, please, let him be all right when all this is through. Let my quirky, flirty, possessive boyfriend be all right. _she pleads to Kami-sama.

"Leave now. I'll come get you when this is all done and over with," Pai whispers softly to the two girls. For the umpteenth time they nod, and Ichigo flees. But Lettuce hesitates, staring at the doctor. He was a vampire, she knew, but he was kind… she had been so wrong about them, all of them: Kisshu, Taruto, and especially Pai.

"Pai-sensei," she mutters, stepping closer and forcing a smile to her palely pink lips. She lays her hand on his forearm, making him jerk his head in surprise to look at her. He gives her a look that reads multiple things, like: 'what is it?' and 'why are you touching me?' and 'stay back, I could hurt you, and I don't want to do that…' But she ignores all that. Lightly, Lettuce tells him: "Everything will turn out for the best. You'll see."

He almost kissed her cheek for that. But he held himself back, and nodded stiffly. Then, as the bookworm left, Pai turned to the blood bag hanging above Kisshu's head. Making sure everything was set up exactly so, he hooked up two needles and flushed out all of Kisshu's old blood, taking things slow as he filled the boy back up with new blood. All the while a heart monitor recorded every fluctuation in the teen's heart race, making sure to capture any possibility of heart failure.

**Bleep… Bleep… Bleep… Bleep… Bleep… **

"Stay with us, Kish," Pai says in the kindest, most heartfelt tone he's ever used in his life. "Ichigo-san would be lost without you. And you've showed me that it's possible to love a human. So maybe… just maybe… if you make it through this and don't end up like Aoyama Masaya, I will pursue my own heart's wishes."


	29. Conclusive Phenomenon

**A/N: **it all comes down to this. i'm listening to Blue October and ready to finish this thing. i just hope i ended it to your satisfaction, although it feels a tad weak even to me. i apologize to you if it does, but i somehow wasn't sure how else to do it.

_THANK YOU SO FRIGGIN' MUCH FOR 10,000 PLUS HITS!! THAT'S INSANE! I LOVE YOU ALL! and the 35 favs and 33 alerts? FANTASTIC. thanks for all your support. it's been fun, kiddies! _

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--

**Bittersweet Strawberry Blood****  
Chapter 29  
**_**"Conclusive Phenomenon"  
**_--

It was a miracle, really. In all of God's green Earth, who would've thought that Ichigo could stand so strong as she watched Kisshu lay in a coma of sorts for 5 hours straight? The only thing keeping her going, it seemed, was caffeinated tea with extra sugar. And hope. Hope was definitely the other thing keeping her going.

She nodded off to sleep some time around 1:40 or so. Her mug (empty) was still in her hands as Pai came in with Lettuce to drape a blanket over her shoulders. Her parents had come and gone, being explained to about half of what they could be told. They were told that Kisshu had been in the accident and needed to undergo surgery and that Ichigo's presence could help him heal. The truth is known to you, but it's not something Ichigo's parents could ever understand. Or allow. What would her father think? Or her mother, for that matter? That this boy before them used to be a vampire, and may return to such a state if not given blood through his veins? That's most certainly not something they could wrap their minds around.

Lettuce's airy, high-pitched voice squeaked as she dared not to cry when she sat next to Ichigo. "Have you ever done this in the past, Pai-sensei?" she asks, not daring to look at him.

"Do what? A full-body blood transfusion? Or do you mean making a kyuuketsuki human again?"

"I meant the latter."

Pai blows air his mouth, his teeth licking the tips of his canine teeth briefly in a nervous manner. "No. Technically (since it has never been needed to be done before), I haven't given someone a full-body blood transfusion, either. Call me inexperienced if you wish, but being alive for as many years as I have doesn't automatically make me all-knowing. I know a lot, mainly basic facts and data, but I don't know _everything_. No one possibly can. And they certainly can't experience everything firsthand."

He hadn't noticed he said so much until he finished speaking. Nor had he noticed how Lettuce's hand had stayed – overly warm to him – on his forearm. He did notice, however, how delicious she smelled, and how lovely her dark blue orbs behind those round glasses looked.

Pai also didn't notice how long he had been staring at the younger girl until she blushed and glanced away, removing her hand. He suddenly missed the warmth. "Well then," she says softly, trying not to stutter (she felt very shaky). "You better check on how Kisshu-san is doing."

"Right." Pai nods, standing and walking around Lettuce and Ichigo (who began snoring lightly) to his 'brother'. The heart monitor seemed functional and normal… wait, normal? Not vampiric or dead? "He's… he's cured!"

"Nani?!" Lettuce gasps out and stands, promptly waking Ichigo with her movements.

"Eh? What's going on?" Ichigo yawns. She glances around at the shocked (Lettuce) and cheerful (Pai, for once) faces above her. Slowly, she stands. "Is… is he okay?"

Pai grins, bloody tears beginning to fall. "I think so. I really think so."

Lettuce grimaces at the crimson streaks running down Pai's face, but is happy nonetheless. "We did it, Ichigo-san; we helped save your kare's life," she murmurs softly.

Ichigo's own tears fell from her chocolate eyes, and she ran to bury her face in Kisshu's sleeping chest. She sobbed gently and listened ever-so-carefully to his rising and falling lungs, and most importantly, his steady heartbeat. The rush of his new blood in his veins after Kami knows how many hours of transplanting made her feel comforted and glad. He would live. Kisshu would live life at a human pace and with her, and everything was going to be fine, just fine. Aoyama may be dead, and school will never be the same, but it was going to be_okay_. And that was enough.

--

As soon as they heard the news the next day, Pudding and Tart rushed to the hospital to see their friends. Even Minto and Zakuro came, albeit later in the day.

"Is Kisshu-oniichan alright?!" Pudding exclaimed. She looked over at Ichigo. "What about you, Ichigo-oneechan? Daijoubu?"

"I'm fine, Pudding," Ichigo smiles sweetly. She drags the younger blonde girl into a hug. "Everything's just fine."

"Ichigo-oneechan," Pudding whispers deviously in her ear. "Taru-Taru is a vampire!"

"I know," Ichigo whispers back. "Pai-sensei, too. And Kisshu used to be, but Pai-sensei made him human again."

"Wow! Is that really possible?" Pudding replies a bit too loudly. Ichigo merely smiles, her head nodding. "Cool!" She leans in. "Does Lettuce- and Mint- and Zakuro-nee know?"

"Only Lettuce," Ichigo informs her. "So keep it a secret, 'kay?"

"Hai, na no da!" Suddenly, the chipper blonde turns to Pai. "Thank you for healing Kisshu-nii and making Taru-Taru happy," she salutes.

The purple-haired man smiles faintly. "Anytime."

"Yeah, Pai… thanks," Taruto whispers. He refused to cry. But he will allow himself to go bug the comatose patient. "Oi, Kish, get your lazy ass up! Everyone's waiting for you!" he barks, his voice wavering. _I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…_

Steadily, as if to tease, Kisshu's heart rate speeds up and his brain patterns follow. His heavy eyelids open. "Neh…?"

"Kisshu!"

"Kish!"

"Onii-san!"

"Welcome back."

"Koi…" Ichigo mutters, her voice being the sole one to really process in the green-haired boy's mind. Did she just call him 'love'? Before he had time to ask what she had really said, he feels thin, warm arms encase his body. "Oh, Kisshu, you better not scare me like that again!" his kitten cries. He feels warm wetness starting to seep into the fibers of his hospital gown.

He brings up a hand to stroke her messy raspberry locks. "I promise I won't." Suddenly, he frowns. He pushes her away far enough to look her in the face. "He kissed you." He states flatly.

She blinks once or twice. After a pause (and confused looks on everyone else's faces) she says, "Oh! You mean Aoyama! Y-yeah, he kinda did, b-but…"

"Only I can kiss you." He states, even flatter this time around (if that's possible!).

"Kish…"

He shrugs, waving it aside. "Whatever. I have you now, and that's all that matters."

"No, baka," she smiles. "_I _have _you _now, and **that's** all that matters." And with that, she planted a firm kiss on his lips.

Although, being the guy his is, Kisshu couldn't help but deepen the kiss by licking at her lips and worming his tongue inside.

That's when everyone else decided to take their leave, exiting via hospital ward door.

It was the first of many such occasions, and hopefully up until their wedding day. But who knows? Sometimes high school romances never last because they lose their luster. Although, with someone as passionate as Kisshu, it can be assured such a thing will never happen.

As for Pudding and Taruto? Well, they're building up the blocks to more than friendship.

Sure, in the weeks and months that followed, the high school was wrecked with grief by Aoyama's death, since he was a star athlete and such. But you know, life moves on. Like how strawberries grow to their fullest and ripest, there comes a time when they need to be picked and passed on. No mater how bittersweet the death, birth, relationship, or flavor, that's life.

And, like Lettuce and Pai, you just have to take it one step at a time.

So I suppose you could say things came together nicely…

…Despite the bittersweet, bloody circumstances.

--

OWARI.


End file.
